James McIlhany Thomson was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 newspaper publisher, best known for his long tenure as head of the New Orleans States-Item and his political role within the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

.

Early years

Thomson was born in Jefferson County, West Virginia

Jefferson County, West Virginia

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...

. He attended the Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, where he and fellow classmate Edgeworth Smith founded the Johns Hopkins News-Letter in 1896.

Career

Shortly after graduating, Thomson became editor of the Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

 Dispatch, where he worked from 1900-1906. From 1906 to 1941, Thomson served in the position he would hold for most of his life, as publisher of the New Orleans States-Item, then known simply as the Item. The New Orleans States-Item was later merged with the present-day Times-Picayune.

Political involvement

Thomson married Genevieve Champ Clark in 1915, whose father, James Beauchamp Clark, had been a Democratic nominee for president in 1912. Thomson himself would serve as delegate to the Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

 in 1920, 1924, and 1944 for the state of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. His nephew, also named James McIlhany Thomson

James M. Thomson (Virginia)

James McIlhany Thomson was a member Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria, Virginia from 1956 - 1977. He was Democratic Floor Leader of the House from 1968 until his retirement in 1977.-Early life and education:...

, served as the Democratic representative of Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

 in the Virginia General Assembly

Virginia General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...

from 1956 to 1978.