James Edwin Thompson

James Edwin Thompson (May 21, 1863 – April 9, 1927) was an English-born surgeon who spent much of his life in the United States. He was the first vice-president and a founding member of the American College of Surgeons. He served as the inaugural chairman for the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

Early life and education Thompson was born May 21, 1863, in Norwich, England, to John and Mary Thompson.

Thompson attended the Witton Grammar School, Manchester School of Medicine, and University of London, receiving bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery from the latter. He also received an honorary degree from Baylor University in 1925.

Thompson aided in founding the American College of Surgeons and became the organization's first vice president in 1913. He served as president for the Texas Surgical Society (1915–1916) and Southern Surgical Association (1919), as well as the American Surgical Association's first vice president (1922). He is also credited with bringing modern surgery to Texas His plastic surgery techniques for cleft lip and palate were considered state of the art at the time.

"Conservatism in the Treatment of Tubercular Joint Disease."

"Anatomical Routes of Approach to the Long Bones of the Extremities."

"The Simplification of Technique in Operations for Hare-Lip and Cleft Palate"

"An Anatomical and Experimental Study of Sacral Anæsthesia"

Personal life Thompson was married to Eleanor Waters Roeck on May 16, 1896 and together they had eight children: four daughters and four sons. All four of his sons became doctors.

Thompson died in Galveston, Texas, on April 9, 1927.