Restrictions on Access

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions

Preferred Citation

Paul S. Thompson papers. Manuscript # 0257, Virginia Military Institute Archives

Biographical / Historical

Paul Singer Thompson was born in 1940 in West Point, New York. He graduated from in 1961 and then received a PhD in history from the University of Virginia. After graduation he was a Professor of History at the University of University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Thompson died in 2017.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of the personal papers (1956-2008) of Paul S. Thompson. The collection includes extensive correspondence dating from his VMI cadetship (1957-1961), his years in graduate school at the University of Virginia (1961-1965), and his life in South Africa with his family.

The papers also include journals that contain: Accounts of his visits to the United States His dissertation Photographs Correspondence from his wife Earline to her parents A scrapbook concerning his cadetship

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Correspondence
• Diaries
• Scrapbooks
• South Africa -- Description and travel
• University of Virginia—Students
• Virginia Military Institute—Cadet life—1950-1959
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1961