Thompson, William P.

William P. Thompson was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Newton and Susan Drake Thompson, before moving as a child to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. After graduating from Cornell University in 1874, he taught school, read law, and was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1877. He practiced law in Lake City and Leadville, Colorado, as well as San Francisco and Santa Rosa, California, before eventually establishing his permanent residence in Fresno.

In Fresno, William formed successful legal partnerships, including Thompson and King and later Thompson and Prince, which operated for seventeen years as a leading firm in the San Joaquin Valley. He married Mary E. Harris on August 18, 1879, in Virginia City, Nevada, and together they had two daughters, Marguerite and Edith. A prominent Democrat and member of the University Club, he conducted an independent law practice after 1909 and contributed significantly to the civic growth of Fresno.