Homer Thompson

Homer Armstrong Thompson (September 7, 1906 – May 7, 2000) was a leading classical archaeologist of the twentieth century, specializing in ancient Greece.

Thompson was born in Devlin, Ontario, Canada, grew up in Chilliwack, B.C. and studied at the University of British Columbia, where he received his B.A. (1925) and M.A. (1927) in classics. In 1929 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan; at Michigan it was Benjamin Dean Meritt (later a faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study) who introduced Thompson to the project which would occupy him for the rest of his life. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens was about to begin the excavation of the agora in Athens and Thompson was selected as a fellow of the school to aid in the project. Excavations began on May 25, 1931; Thompson would work on the excavations for the next 39 years. He was married to the archaeologist Dorothy Burr Thompson.