THOMPSON, HUGH S.
From Knob Knowledge
January 24, 1836-November 20, 1904. Born in Charleston, S.C. and died in New York City. Citadel Class of 1856. Taught at the Arsenal in Columbia, S.C., and then returned to Charleston to teach writing and French from 1861 to 1865. He commanded a company of cadets in defense of Charleston harbor during the Civil War. He was elected governor of South Carolina twice, in 1882 and 1884. He resigned the governorship in 1884 when President Grover Cleveland appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Thompson later served as the first Commissioner of the U.S. Civil Service, appointed by President Benjamin Harrison. Thompson was known as a superb orator and education reformer. (Sources: Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 18, pp. 458-459; Yates Snowden, History of South Carolina, vol. 2, pp. 982-984) (DH & EC)
See also GRADUATES--GOVERNORS.
