Joseph Cheesman Thompson

Who was Joseph Cheesman Thompson?

Joseph Cheesman Thompson was a career medical officer in the United States Navy who attained the rank of commander before retirement in 1929. His foes called him ‘Crazy Thompson’, but to friends he was known as ‘Snake’, a nickname derived from his expertise in the field of herpetology.

A true polymath, Thompson displayed a depth of knowledge in a wide variety of fields from Asian religion to zoology. His friend Rhoda Seoane wrote of him, that he would at times go into the Library of Congress to read the Sanskrit texts. Of his character, she wrote, “Thompson never consumed any alcohol, neither did he smoke. His knowledge of whatever subject he might be interested in was so detailed and his mind as sharp as a razor’s edge, he would have been a most able cross-examiner in court.”