David Thompson - London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Metro2
N 51° 29.779 W 000° 08.063
30U E 698907 N 5708913
This plaque is on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital which is actually a Church of England comprehensive secondary school for girls in Westminster, London, England.
Waymark Code: WMDQY5
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/16/2012
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member miatabug
Views: 24
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This green "blue" plaque reads:

"City of Westminster
David Thompson
1770-1857
explored and mapped Canada
studied at this school
1777-1784
Grey Coat Hospital Foundation"

Wikipedia (visit link) further informs us that Thompson:

"... was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer". Over his career he mapped over 3.9 million square kilometers of North America and for this has been described as the "greatest land geographer who ever lived."...
Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on February 10, 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognized. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative.


David Thompson Memorial, Verendrye, North DakotaThompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave.

In 1957, one hundred years after his death, the Canadian government honoured him with his image on a Canadian postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer who ever lived."'
Blue Plaque managing agency: City of Westminster

Individual Recognized: David Thompson

Physical Address:
Greycoat Place
London, England UK
SW1P 2DY

Web Address: [Web Link]
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Recent Visits/Logs:
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