Member and Chairman, Railroad Commission of Texas; Member and Chairman, Interstate Oil and Compact Commission
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Information from Amarillo's 100 most prominent citizens:
Posted: Friday, May 19, 2000
Greg Rohloff, Globe-News Staff Writer
At his death on June 28, 1966, Gen. Ernest O. Thompson was recognized as a world authority on oil and natural gas conservation.
Thompson, born March 24, 1892, at Alvord, moved with his family to Amarillo in 1902. His father, L.O. Thompson, operated a drug store.
After graduating from Amarillo High School, Thompson attended Virginia Military Institute and later the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a law degree.
He rose to lieutenant colonel during World War I. He received a battlefield promotion from Gen. John J. Pershing.
After the war, he remained in Europe and was in charge of amassing Germany's military arms with the Army of Occupation. He helped organize the American Legion and attended the Paris Peace Conference.
He returned to Amarillo to set up a law practice and later owned the Amarillo Hotel and the Herring Hotel. He also built Amarillo's first multi-story office building, the Amarillo Building.
He was married in 1924 to May Peterson, a Metropolitan opera star. She died in October 1952. He later married Myda Bivins, widow of Miles Bivins, Amarillo cattleman.
In April 1929, he was elected mayor and was credited with cutting utility rates and launching a major civic improvement campaign. He served as mayor until 1932 when he was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission, where he began building his reputation as an oil and gas expert.
Under Thompson's guidance, the Railroad Commission developed conservation and production measures that brought order to the East Texas fields, where oil had fallen from $1.10 a barrel to 10 cents a barrel.
He fought federal control of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, later serving three terms as chairman. Thompson was one of the first to warn the industry of the danger of relying on petroleum imports in time of war.
President Roosevelt sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris in 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for allied military forces.
Thompson was honored by the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which in 1951 awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."
Thompson served on the boards of Texas Tech and Virginia Military Institute. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Masonic Lodge and Khiva Temple of the Shrine and the Amarillo Rotary Club.
Thompson died in 1966. After his death, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee placed a marker honoring him in Thompson Park, which is named for him.
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Contributed by Rhondelle Blankenship
-------------------------------------------------------
Information from Amarillo's 100 most prominent citizens:
Posted: Friday, May 19, 2000
Greg Rohloff, Globe-News Staff Writer
At his death on June 28, 1966, Gen. Ernest O. Thompson was recognized as a world authority on oil and natural gas conservation.
Thompson, born March 24, 1892, at Alvord, moved with his family to Amarillo in 1902. His father, L.O. Thompson, operated a drug store.
After graduating from Amarillo High School, Thompson attended Virginia Military Institute and later the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a law degree.
He rose to lieutenant colonel during World War I. He received a battlefield promotion from Gen. John J. Pershing.
After the war, he remained in Europe and was in charge of amassing Germany's military arms with the Army of Occupation. He helped organize the American Legion and attended the Paris Peace Conference.
He returned to Amarillo to set up a law practice and later owned the Amarillo Hotel and the Herring Hotel. He also built Amarillo's first multi-story office building, the Amarillo Building.
He was married in 1924 to May Peterson, a Metropolitan opera star. She died in October 1952. He later married Myda Bivins, widow of Miles Bivins, Amarillo cattleman.
In April 1929, he was elected mayor and was credited with cutting utility rates and launching a major civic improvement campaign. He served as mayor until 1932 when he was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission, where he began building his reputation as an oil and gas expert.
Under Thompson's guidance, the Railroad Commission developed conservation and production measures that brought order to the East Texas fields, where oil had fallen from $1.10 a barrel to 10 cents a barrel.
He fought federal control of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, later serving three terms as chairman. Thompson was one of the first to warn the industry of the danger of relying on petroleum imports in time of war.
President Roosevelt sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris in 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for allied military forces.
Thompson was honored by the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which in 1951 awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."
Thompson served on the boards of Texas Tech and Virginia Military Institute. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Masonic Lodge and Khiva Temple of the Shrine and the Amarillo Rotary Club.
Thompson died in 1966. After his death, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee placed a marker honoring him in Thompson Park, which is named for him.
-------------------------
Contributed by Rhondelle Blankenship
Member and Chairman, Railroad Commission of Texas; Member and Chairman, Interstate Oil and Compact Commission
-------------------------------------------------------
Information from Amarillo's 100 most prominent citizens:
Posted: Friday, May 19, 2000
Greg Rohloff, Globe-News Staff Writer
At his death on June 28, 1966, Gen. Ernest O. Thompson was recognized as a world authority on oil and natural gas conservation.
Thompson, born March 24, 1892, at Alvord, moved with his family to Amarillo in 1902. His father, L.O. Thompson, operated a drug store.
After graduating from Amarillo High School, Thompson attended Virginia Military Institute and later the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a law degree.
He rose to lieutenant colonel during World War I. He received a battlefield promotion from Gen. John J. Pershing.
After the war, he remained in Europe and was in charge of amassing Germany's military arms with the Army of Occupation. He helped organize the American Legion and attended the Paris Peace Conference.
He returned to Amarillo to set up a law practice and later owned the Amarillo Hotel and the Herring Hotel. He also built Amarillo's first multi-story office building, the Amarillo Building.
He was married in 1924 to May Peterson, a Metropolitan opera star. She died in October 1952. He later married Myda Bivins, widow of Miles Bivins, Amarillo cattleman.
In April 1929, he was elected mayor and was credited with cutting utility rates and launching a major civic improvement campaign. He served as mayor until 1932 when he was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission, where he began building his reputation as an oil and gas expert.
Under Thompson's guidance, the Railroad Commission developed conservation and production measures that brought order to the East Texas fields, where oil had fallen from $1.10 a barrel to 10 cents a barrel.
He fought federal control of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, later serving three terms as chairman. Thompson was one of the first to warn the industry of the danger of relying on petroleum imports in time of war.
President Roosevelt sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris in 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for allied military forces.
Thompson was honored by the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which in 1951 awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."
Thompson served on the boards of Texas Tech and Virginia Military Institute. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Masonic Lodge and Khiva Temple of the Shrine and the Amarillo Rotary Club.
Thompson died in 1966. After his death, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee placed a marker honoring him in Thompson Park, which is named for him.
-------------------------
Contributed by Rhondelle Blankenship
-------------------------------------------------------
Information from Amarillo's 100 most prominent citizens:
Posted: Friday, May 19, 2000
Greg Rohloff, Globe-News Staff Writer
At his death on June 28, 1966, Gen. Ernest O. Thompson was recognized as a world authority on oil and natural gas conservation.
Thompson, born March 24, 1892, at Alvord, moved with his family to Amarillo in 1902. His father, L.O. Thompson, operated a drug store.
After graduating from Amarillo High School, Thompson attended Virginia Military Institute and later the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a law degree.
He rose to lieutenant colonel during World War I. He received a battlefield promotion from Gen. John J. Pershing.
After the war, he remained in Europe and was in charge of amassing Germany's military arms with the Army of Occupation. He helped organize the American Legion and attended the Paris Peace Conference.
He returned to Amarillo to set up a law practice and later owned the Amarillo Hotel and the Herring Hotel. He also built Amarillo's first multi-story office building, the Amarillo Building.
He was married in 1924 to May Peterson, a Metropolitan opera star. She died in October 1952. He later married Myda Bivins, widow of Miles Bivins, Amarillo cattleman.
In April 1929, he was elected mayor and was credited with cutting utility rates and launching a major civic improvement campaign. He served as mayor until 1932 when he was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission, where he began building his reputation as an oil and gas expert.
Under Thompson's guidance, the Railroad Commission developed conservation and production measures that brought order to the East Texas fields, where oil had fallen from $1.10 a barrel to 10 cents a barrel.
He fought federal control of the petroleum industry and worked to establish the Interstate Oil Compact, later serving three terms as chairman. Thompson was one of the first to warn the industry of the danger of relying on petroleum imports in time of war.
President Roosevelt sent Thompson to the World Petroleum Conference in Paris in 1937. With the outbreak of World War II, Thompson briefly rejoined the Army before returning to Texas to ensure oil supplies for allied military forces.
Thompson was honored by the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the American Petroleum Institute, which in 1951 awarded him the "Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement."
Thompson served on the boards of Texas Tech and Virginia Military Institute. He was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, the Masonic Lodge and Khiva Temple of the Shrine and the Amarillo Rotary Club.
Thompson died in 1966. After his death, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee placed a marker honoring him in Thompson Park, which is named for him.
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Contributed by Rhondelle Blankenship
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