James Maurice Thompson (September 9, 1844 – February 15, 1901) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, archer and naturalist.
Biography
James Maurice Thompson was born in 1844 in the former town of Fairfield, Indiana, located in Franklin County to a Baptist minister and his wife. Near the end of the decade, the family moved to northern Georgia. He was educated by tutors in the classical languages, literature, French and mathematics; he used his mathematical training to advantage by becoming a civil engineer.
During the Civil War, Maurice Thompson and his brother Will Henry Thompson (born 1848) fought as privates in the Confederate Army.
After the war, Thompson took up residence in Calhoun, Georgia, where he studied surveying, engineering, and the law. He lived in Calhoun for two years, and began publishing the first of his articles while living there.
In 1867 Thompson began a botanical and ornithological survey of Lake Okeechobee in Florida. After finishing this work, Thompson and his brother moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana. Maurice began working as an engineer on a railroad being built in the area, and the Thompson brothers married sisters.
In 1871 the brothers opened a law office together. In 1873 Maurice resumed submitting articles for publication (Atlantic Monthly published his first), after which he undertook a series of articles on archery. He was published in New York Tribune, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper's Monthly. His first book appeared in 1875 and over the ensuing years he wrote in different genres, including novels and poetry.
