The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to 3.9 million square kilometres of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.

Despite these significant achievements, 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.^[6]

Thompson'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. His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer who ever lived."^[1][2]

There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town, Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately two miles north and one mile west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota.

The year 2007 marks the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits are planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.[1]

[

See also

• Fur trade
• Jack Nisbet (author of several books on David Thompson)

[

Notes

[

Works

• 1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
• 1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest : the manuscript journals of Alexander Henry, fur trader of the North West Company, and of David Thompson, official geographer and explorer of the same company, 1799-1814 : exploration and adventure among the Indians on the Red, Saskatchewan, Missouri and Columbia Rivers (edited by Elliott Coues)
• 1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784-1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrell)
• 1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808-1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
• 1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784-1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
• 1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817-1827 : western Lake Erie, August-September, 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
• 1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
• 2006: "Moccasin Miles - The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799-1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
• 2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787-1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807-1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784-1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600-1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)

[

References

• Thompson, David. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Library and Archives Canada (2000). Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
• Jenish, D'Arcy (2003). Epic wanderer : David Thompson and the mapping of the Canadian West. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. ISBN 0385659733. 
• Thompson, David (1994). Columbia Journals. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 0773509895. 
• David Thompson Canada's greatest Geographer. David Thompson Things. David Thompson Things. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
• Arcturus Consulting. The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784-1812 [map]. (2007) ISBN 978-0-9783707-2-5.
• 2006: "Moccasin Miles - The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799-1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)

[

Further reading

• Flandrau, Grace (1925). Koo-koo-sint, the Star Man : a chronicle of David Thompson. Great Northern Railway. Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection

• Jenish, D'Arcy (2003). Epic Wanderer : David Thompson and the Mapping of the Canadian West. Doubleday Canada. 

• McCart, Joyce and Peter (2000). On the Road with David Thompson. Fifth House. 

• Nisbet, Jack (1994). Sources of the River : Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America. Sasquatch Books. 

[

External links

• Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
• Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
• Contemporary and Historical Maps Maps depicting David Thompson's travels, Charlotte Small's travels, Posts and Forts of the Canadian Fur Trade 1600-1870, and other explorations
• Join the 2008 David Thompson Brigade: canoeing expedition following Thompson's routes
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• "The greatest land geographer who ever lived: A short history" by J.B. Tyrell
• David Thompson Canadian Fur Trader and Mapmaker
• The Life of David Thompson
• How David Thompson Navigated A technical, in-depth study of the methods used by David Thompson, based on his journals
• Bigfoot Encounters: David Thompson
• DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations

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