Elihu Thomson

He was born in Manchester, England, on March 29, 1853, but his family moved to Philadelphia in the United States in 1858. Thomson attended Central High School in Philadelphia and graduated in 1870. Thomson took a teaching position at Central, and in 1876, at the age of twenty-three, held the chair of Chemistry. In 1880, he left Central to pursue research in the emerging field of electrical engineering.

He married Mary Louise Peck (born: June 1, 1856 in New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut) on May 1, 1884, and was father to four children: Stuart Thomson (b:. August 13, 1886), Roland Davis Thomson (b:. June 17, 1888), Malcolm Thomson (b.: August 30, 1891), Donald Thurston Thomson (b.: April 10, 1893)

His second wife was Clarissa Hovey Thomson.

He was a founding member, as well as the second president, of the International Electrotechnical Commission.

He served as acting president of MIT from 1920–1923. Thomson, overcoming his distaste for management, accepted this role during a critical period for the university when it could not otherwise find a president.

On June 21, 1932, at age 79, Thomson was interviewed on film talking about his life and times.

Thomson died at his estate in Swampscott, Massachusetts. The Elihu Thomson House in Swampscott was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1976 and serves as Swampscott's town hall.