David thompson (1770 1857)

David Thompson

  • Early Life

    Early Life
    David Thompson was born in Westminister, London, England. When he was two, his father died and him and his brother went to the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged, when he was 7.
  • Period: to

    David's Life

  • First Voyage

    First Voyage
    He was apprenticed to the HBC (Hudson's Bay Company) and was sent out to sea. From 1784 to 1797, he was a clerk at the bay but eventually left the company.
  • Fracturing Injury

    Fracturing Injury
    On the 23rd, David fell down a bank and broke his leg. It was very serious, almost life-threating. The person who ran the Manchester House, bound the leg.
  • Navigational Measurement

    Navigational Measurement
    He measured a lunar distance for the longitude of the Cumberland House. He made 34 over the next 4 months and 6 observations of the latitude.
  • Another Journey

    Another Journey
    David set out again, reaching the Reed Lake House, September 2. He brought three canoes full of trading goods for the new fur post.
  • Starting a Family

    Starting a Family
    His wife, Charlotte Small, had given birth to their first child. It was a girl and they named her Fanny.
  • Lake Superior Survey

    Lake Superior Survey
    He surveyed the north shore of the lake while he was on his way east and he arrived at Terrebonne, north of Montreal, in the fall.
  • Death

    Death
    David had died two months before his 87th birthday. His wife, Charlotte, passed three months after. They are buried side by side in Montreal's Mount Royal cemetery.