Donald C. Thompson (photographer)

Thompson was most likely born on 19 January 1885 in Kansas."United States Passport Applications, 1795–1925," database with images, FamilySearch (M1490) Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 – March 31, 1925 > Roll 528, 1918 Jun, certificate no 20000-20249 > image 40 of 1151 Birth records do not exist for that time period in Kansas and Thompson often gave misleading birthdates and places and the name of his father on official documents like passport applications. He was the second son of Sarah Alice Conkling (Conklin). Conkling, who lived in Thompsonsville in Jefferson County, married Thomas A. Thompson, a physician and widower from Kentucky, who was living in nearby Grantville.{{Cite news|date=1880-11-19|title=Conklin and Thompson wed in Thompsonville|pages=1|work=The Kaw Valley Chief|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82951654/conklin-and-thompson-wed-in/|access-date=2021-08-08}}{{Cite book|last1=Castellan|first1=James W.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bmzn8c|title=American Cinematographers in the Great War, 1914-1918|last2=van Dopperen|first2=Ron|last3=Graham|first3=Cooper C.|date=2016|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-86196-717-9|pages=69–70|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1bmzn8c|jstor=j.ctt1bmzn8c }} It does not appear that Thompson lived with Conkling for long. By 1885, Sarah was living with her parents in Thompsonville and listed as "Sarah Hofman" in the Kansas Census. She had a five-month old son named "Donilan Hofman" and a three-year-old named "Harry Thompson."Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1885 Kansas Territory Census; Roll: KS1885_60; Line: 15 Thompson later lived with his Conklin kin in the rural community of Parsons in Labette County, Kansas. With no father around, Donald Thompson was sent to live with a more settled family and as a teenager he primarily lived with his uncle Cory E. Conklin and aunt in Chanute, Kansas. Poet Esther M. Clark was his neighbor in those days and published an article in the local newspaper (Coffeyville Journal of May, 18, 1918), debunking Thompson's self-promoted background from Topeka.{{Cite web|last=Dopperen|first=Ron Van|date=2015-06-15|title=First World War on Film: Use of the Internet in Tracing the Mysterious Donald C. Thompson|url=https://shootingthegreatwar.blogspot.com/2015/06/use-of-internet-in-tracing-mysterious.html |access-date=2021-09-29|website=First World War on Film}} By 1900, Thompson and his mother had moved to Topeka."United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (5 August 2014), Kansas > Shawnee > ED 158 Precinct 1 Topeka city Ward 4 > image 11 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Thompson was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents and never had a father present in his life. His mother divorced Thomas Thompson in 1914 after claiming he had deserted her 20 years earlier.{{Cite news|date=1914-01-18|title=Four Divorces Granted In Topeka Yesterday|pages=17|work=The Topeka Daily Capital|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83652570/four-divorces-granted-in-topeka/|access-date=2021-08-18}}

Thompson dabbled as a freelance photographer for the Topeka Daily Capital and made some notes and took some photos of the Kansas River flooding in 1903.

He was arrested in 1909 for presuming to be an officer of the US Army and referred to as "one of the smoothest swindlers in the country."{{Cite news|date=1911-06-27|title=His Liberty of Brief Duration; Donald C. Thompson arrested|pages=1|work=The Leavenworth Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82270175/his-liberty-of-brief-duration-donald/|access-date=2021-07-27}} After serving two years in Leavenworth, he was released and then immediately re-arrested and brought to Washington D.C. Owing to his good conduct while in prison, he was granted parole.{{Cite news|date=1911-07-28|title=Penitent Young Man Is Granted a Parole. Donald Thompson makes good impression|pages=5|work=The Washington Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82775466/penitent-young-man-is-granted-a-parole/|access-date=2021-08-04}}

By late 1911, he began working as a correspondent for The Washington Herald{{Cite news|date=1912-02-23|title=Washington Paper Plans Write-Up of Frederick - Donald C. Thompson here|pages=3|work=The Frederick Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82761632/washington-paper-plans-write-up-of/|access-date=2021-08-04}} and covered the 1912 Democratic Convention in Baltimore and the Colorado Coalfield War.{{Cite journal|last=Mould|first=David|title=Donald Thompson: Photographer at War|url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1982autumn_mould.pdf|journal=Kansas History|volume=5|pages=154–168}}

File:Donald C Thompson Yekaterinburg 1919.jpg

When World War 1 broke out in Europe, Thompson was commissioned by the Montreal newspaper, Cartier Centenary, to film Canadian troops. During the first year of the war, Thompson shot stills for American and British newspapers and magazines such as the New York World, the Chicago Tribune, Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, the London Daily Mail, and the Illustrated London News. He also shot film for the major newsreel companies.{{Cite journal|last=Mould|first=David H|date=2017-05-15|title=Images of Revolution: An American Photographer in Petrograd, 1917|url=https://journals.ku.edu/jras/article/view/6561|journal=Journal of Russian American Studies|volume=1|issue=1|pages=46–61 |doi=10.17161/jras.v1i1.6561|issn=2473-7348|doi-access=free}} He was arrested nine times while attempting to reach the front from Paris. He succeeded on this 10th attempted and photographed the Battle of Mons.{{Cite news|date=1914-09-18|title=Yankee Camera Man Conquers all of Europe|pages=3|work=The Oberlin Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82077850/yankee-camera-man-conquers-all-of-europe/|access-date=2021-07-27}} He was wounded while dining with Germans in Diksmuide.{{Cite news|date=1918-05-27|title=Adventures of a Camera Man at the Front. A Close-Up of Mr. Donald C. Thompson|pages=9|work=The Long Beach Telegram and The Long Beach Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82330548/adventures-of-a-camera-man-at-the/|access-date=2021-07-28}}

Thompson made his first trip to the Russian Empire in 1915. Thompson’s footage was released by the Chicago Tribune as a feature-length film, With the Russians at the Front, in August 1915. {{Cite web|last=Dopperen|first=Ron Van|date=1 August 2015|title=First World War on Film: The Chicago Tribune's 'With the Russians at the Front' (USA, 1915) |url= https://shootingthegreatwar.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-chicago-tribunes-with-russians-at.html|access-date=2021-10-03|website=First World War on Film}}

While in the Russian Empire, Thompson met Czar Nicholas II who commissioned Thompson as a captain in the Czar's Cossack regiment so he could more easily take photos in Russia.{{Cite news|date=1931-10-08|title=Lens Man was Pal of Czar: Thompson, War Photographer, Tell Travels|pages=2|work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82460552/lens-man-was-pal-of-czar-thompson-war/|access-date=2021-08-05}}

Thompson was able to move about on instinct, being able to access the battlefield regardless of the British, the French and the Germans. He often lied about his identity, a useful tactic that also got him into trouble whether at war or peace. He found being a photographer exciting work, and it appears he thoroughly enjoyed the deception he often used to film the scenes he wanted to capture.

In 1916, he joined the French army as an official cinematographer. He filmed at the siege of Verdun and Battle of the Somme, where he was wounded. His second feature, War As It Really Is was released in December 1916.{{Cite news|date=1916-12-09|title=War As It Really Was Approved by State Censor Board|pages=5|work=The Topeka Daily Capital|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83153363/war-as-it-really-was-approved-by-state/|access-date=2022-02-14}}{{Cite news|date=1917-01-06|title='War As It Really Is' Shows Actual Fighting|pages=15|work=The Ottawa Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83153431/war-as-it-really-is-shows-actual/|access-date=2022-02-14}} Its premiere at the Rialto Theater in New York City broke the box office record''.{{Cite web|last=Dopperen|first=Ron Van |date=26 January 2016|title=First World War on Film: Donald C. Thompson's 'War As It Really Is' (USA, 1916) |url= https://shootingthegreatwar.blogspot.com/2016/01/donald-c-thompsons-war-as-it-really-is.html|access-date=2021-10-03|website=First World War on Film}}

In late 1916, Leslie’s Weekly sent Thompson and journalist Florence Harper to Petrograd to cover the Eastern front. Shortly after their arrival, the March Revolution broke out. Thompson and Harper had a unique opportunity to witness the disintegration of Russia into chaos from February until August 1917.{{Cite web|title=Blood Stained Russia – pictures from a 1918 book by Captain Donald C. Thompson|url=https://www.alexanderpalace.org/thompson/index.html|access-date=2021-07-27|website=www.alexanderpalace.org}}{{Cite news|date=1917-09-30|title=Thompson Risks Life to Film Russian Revolution Scenes|pages=18|work=The Topeka Daily Capital|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82651657/thompson-risks-life-to-film-russian/|access-date=2021-08-02}} Thompson returned to the United States in September 1917 and in December he released his feature-length film, The German Curse in Russia (also known as Blood-Stained Russia). It was released to enthusiastic reviews in December 1917.{{Cite news|date=1918-02-27|title=Flickerings from Filmland: The German Curse in Russia at Rialto Theatre|pages=6|work=The San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82270060/flickerings-from-filmland-the-german/|access-date=2021-07-27}}{{Cite news|date=1918-02-22|title=Nerve Required in Russ Film|pages=8|work=The San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82270081/nerve-required-in-russ-film/|access-date=2021-07-27}}

File:Full Edit German Curse in Russia.ogg

Thompson and his wife returned to Russia in 1918 or 1919 and photographed the activities of the American Red Cross during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.{{Cite news|date=1919-02-26|title=Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Thompson are expected home next month from Siberia|pages=8|work=The Topeka State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82380321/mr-and-mrs-donald-c-thompson-are/|access-date=2021-07-29}}

Various segments from Thompson's World War 1 footage have been found by authors Ron van Dopperen and Cooper C. Graham while researching their book American Cinematographers in the Great War, 1914-1918. {{Cite book|last1=Castellan|first1=James W.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bmzn8c|title=American Cinematographers in the Great War, 1914-1918|last2=van Dopperen|first2=Ron|last3=Graham|first3=Cooper C.|date=2014|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-86196-717-9|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1bmzn8c|jstor=j.ctt1bmzn8c }}

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Thompson worked as a freelancer, selling topical films and travelogues in many places such as Mongolia, Borneo, China and the Philippines.{{Cite news|date=1924-02-02|title=Putting War into Pictures is the Trade of this Young Man who hails from Kansas|pages=9|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82077800/putting-war-into-pictures-is-the-trade/|access-date=2021-07-27}}{{Cite news|date=1920-07-10|title=Going into Orient. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Thompson on a Historical Expedition|pages=14|work=The Topeka State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82330278/going-into-orient-mr-and-mrs-donald/|access-date=2021-07-28}}

Thompson and his wife, Dorothy, joined writer and adventurer Gertrude Emerson on a world journey in 1920. At the time, Emerson was associate editor of Asia an American magazine that featured reporting about Asia and its people.{{Cite news|date=1920-07-10|title=Going into Orient. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Thomson on a Historical Expedition|pages=14|work=The Topeka State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82330278/going-into-orient-mr-and-mrs-donald/|access-date=2021-09-30}}

Thompson was arrested in Chicago in 1923 for impersonating naval officers and passing worthless checks.{{Cite news|title=WAR PHOTOGRAPHER HELD AS SWINDLER; Donald C. Thompson Taken for Impersonating Naval Officers and for Bad Checks.| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/06/06/105995330.html?zoom=16.1|access-date=2021-07-27|language=en}} The case was eventually dropped on the grounds of mistaken identity.{{Cite news|date=1923-06-22|title=Drop Case Against Thompson. Topeka photographer victim of mistaken identity|pages=16|work=The Kansas City Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83015847/drop-case-against-thompson-topeka/|access-date=2021-09-30}}

In 1924, Thompson traveled to Hawaii to film the Kīlauea volcano.{{Cite news|date=1924-01-15|title=Here for Pictures|pages=3|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84227664/here-for-pictures/|access-date=2021-09-30}} He successfully filmed the volcano{{Cite news|date=1924-02-06|title=War Movie Man Calls Kilauea Greatest Sight|pages=10|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84228204/war-movie-man-calls-kilauea-greatest/|access-date=2021-09-30}} but his film was destroyed in a fire a few days later.{{Cite news|date=1924-02-19|title=Elks' Waikiki Lodge Damaged by Flames|pages=1|work=Hawaii Tribune-Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84228330/elks-waikiki-lodge-damaged-by-flames/|access-date=2021-09-30}} Thompson had several episodes with fire, no doubt caused by spontaneous combustion of the film material.{{Cite news|date=1924-04-15|title=Fire in Elks' Club Probed by Detectives|pages=15|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84228826/fire-in-elks-club-probed-by-detectives/|access-date=2021-09-30}}

Thompson filmed the opium trade in Siam in 1927 including a 30-acre opium factory in Bangkok. Siam approved the films after they were censored but ordered him to never show the films. The negatives of the film were stolen at one point and then returned. The positives were mysteriously stolen in 1934.{{Cite news|date=1934-04-21|title=Dope Film Theft Reveals Bizarre Story|pages=3|work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91440779/dope-film-theft-reveals-bizarre-story/|access-date=2021-12-30}}

In 1932, Thompson filmed the Shanghai Incident.{{Cite news|date=1932-02-21|title=Santa Cruz Man Taking War Pictures in Midst of Fighting in China|pages=7|work=Santa Cruz Sentinel|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83027059/santa-cruz-man-taking-war-pictures-in/|access-date=2021-12-30}}Thompson, D. C. (1932) The ‘Sino-Japanese disturbances.’ Souvenir album. Shanghai, 1932. Tokyo: Shomi-do. Thompson claims that he filmed the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the Spanish Civil War, but there is no existing evidence to support his claims. He also claimed to have interviewed Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.{{Cite news|date=1937-04-06|title=Veteran Reporter of Wars Foresees Far East Conflict. Donald C. Thompson En Route to China|pages=2|work=St. Joseph News-Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82330360/veteran-reporter-of-wars-foresees-far/|access-date=2021-07-28}} {{Cite news|date=1937-04-07|title=Man Who Has Interviewed Dictators Gives Views Here|pages=1|work=St. Joseph Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83146637/man-who-has-interviewed-dictators-gives/|access-date=2021-12-30}}

Thompson continued to address audiences and share his adventures and world views until at least 1940.{{Cite news|date=1940-09-07|title=Photographer Visiting Here Knows King Carol|pages=3|work=St. Joseph News-Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82462170/photographer-visiting-here-knows-king/|access-date=2021-12-30}} {{Cite news|date=1940-08-13|title=Two Views of the Reich|pages=8|work=St. Joseph News-Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82464736/two-views-of-the-reich/|access-date=2021-12-30}}

Thompson had four or five wives. He had a daughter, Alma, with his first wife, Elizabeth E. Bauer.{{Cite news|date=1906-06-13|title=Don C. Thompson weds Miss Elizabeth E. Bauer|pages=6|work=The Topeka State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82838349/don-c-thompson-weds-miss-elizabeth-e/|access-date=2021-08-08}}{{Cite news|date=1907-08-12|title=Mr and Mrs Don C. Thompson have daughter|pages=6|work=The Topeka State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82904530/mr-and-mrs-don-c-thompson-have-daughter/|access-date=2021-08-08}} His second wife, Dorothy Marshall,{{Cite news|last=Marshall|date=1916-02-17|title=Marriage of Thompson|pages=8|work=The Garnett Review|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82076956/marriage-of-thompson-marshall/|access-date=2021-07-30}} accompanied him on some of his travels, most notably his trip to Russia in 1918-19 and his trip to Asia July 1920 to May 1921. His third wife, Maria Valine,{{Cite news|date=1930-11-27|title=Legacy Rewards Woman 'Foreman' of Ranch in War|pages=5|work=The San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82077902/legacy-rewards-woman-foreman-of-ranch/|access-date=2021-07-30}}{{Cite news|date=1937-04-16|title=Divorce Decree Sought by Donald C. Thompson, War Correspondent|pages=23|work=St. Joseph News-Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82651547/divorce-decree-sought-by-donald-c/|access-date=2021-08-08}} journeyed with him on a few of his assignments in the later 1920s. He was living with his fourth wife, Jennie O. Johnstun, in the 1940s in Hollywood but it appears they were divorced at the time of Thompson's death. His death certificate indicates he is divorced but then lists his wife as Mariel Thompson.

Thompson moved to southern California by 1930 and died of heart failure at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Hondo, California, on July 8, 1947. He was cremated at [https://nl.findagrave.com/memorial/198631119/donald-c-thompson Los Angeles County Crematory]. Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.

File:War As It Really Is Advertisement.jpg

From Czar to Kaiser, The Betrayal of Russia (1918){{Cite news |date=1918-12-07 |title=Donald Thompson's Graphic Views of a Land of Terror |pages=8 |work=New-York Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108719372/donald-thompsons-graphic-views-of-a/ |access-date=2022-09-01}} (also titled [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31175020426881 Blood Stained Russia] and [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uva.x000886470 The Crime of the Twentieth Century])

Donald Thompson In Russia (1918)

[https://search.library.ucla.edu/permalink/01UCS_LAL/17p22dp/alma9932963233606533 The ‘Sino-Japanese disturbances.’ Souvenir album (1932)]

[https://shootingthegreatwar.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-chicago-tribunes-with-russians-at.html With the Russians at the Front (December 1915)] - shot while on first trip to Russia with Robert R. McCormick of the Chicago Tribune

Somewhere in France (1915) - shot on the Western Front{{Cite news|date=1915-12-21|title='Somewhere in France' Tells Real Story of War|pages=14|work=The Topeka Daily Capital|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83148413/somewhere-in-france-tells-real-story/|access-date=2021-08-10}}

[https://shootingthegreatwar.blogspot.com/2017/04/fighting-war-usa-1916.html Fighting the War (USA, 1916) - Two-reel production by Thompson released by the Mutual Film Corporation.]

War As It Really Is (1916)

[https://archive.org/details/full-edit-german-curse-in-russia The German Curse in Russia (1918)– reconstruction, 2017]

{{reflist}}

[https://www.alexanderpalace.org/thompson/ Blood Stained Russia] (a selection of pictures reproduced from the 1918 book)

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/144112920@N02/albums/72157678052283042 Pictures from Thompson's book The Crime of the Twentieth Century (1918)]

[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trailer_%22American_Cinematographers_in_the_Great_War%22.ogg Movie Trailer "American Cinematographers in the Great War, 1914-1918"]

[https://archive.org/details/use-of-the-internet-in-tracing-the-mysterious-donald-c.-thompson-2015_202308 Cooper C. Graham, Use of the Internet in Tracing the Mysterious Donald C. Thompson (paper prepared for IAMHIST Conference, 2015)]

[https://archive.org/details/weblog-shooting-the-great-war-updated-1-4-2024-pdf/page/n9/mode/2up Weblog on the American Films and Cinematographers of World War I, 2013-2018]

[https://ww1ha.org/world-war-one-illustrated/ Van Dopperen, Ron, "Shooting the Siege of Antwerp", World War One Illustrated, (Spring 2024), 23-29]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Donald C.}}

Category:1885 births

Category:1947 deaths

Category:People from Topeka, Kansas

Category:Photographers from Kansas

Category:American war photographers

Category:war photography

Category:World War I photographers

Category:20th-century American photographers

Category:American war correspondents of World War I