Lowell Jackson Thomas (1892 - 1981)

Born 6 Apr 1892 in Greenville or Woodington, Darke, Ohio

Ancestors

Husband of Marianna (Munn) Thomas — married 5 Jan 1977 in Maui, Hawaii, United States

Died 29 Aug 1981 at age 89 in Pawling, Dutchess, New York, United States

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Biography

Lowell Thomas is Notable.

Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American explorer, producer, educator, lecturer, editor, author and journalist, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous.^[1][2]

Thomas was born in Woodington, Darke County, Ohio, to Harry and Harriet (Wagner) Thomas. His father was a doctor, his mother a teacher. In 1900, the family moved to the mining town of Victor, Colorado. Thomas worked there as a gold miner, a cook, and a reporter on the newspaper.^[3]

In 1910, Thomas graduated from Victor High School, where one of his teachers was Mabel Barbee Lee. The following year, he graduated from Valparaiso University with bachelor's degrees in education and science. The next year he received both a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Denver and began work for the Chicago Journal, writing for it until 1914. Thomas also was on the faculty of Chicago-Kent College of Law (now part of Illinois Institute of Technology), where he taught oratory from 1912 to 1914. He then went to New Jersey, where he studied for a master's at Princeton University (he received the degree in 1916) and again taught oratory at the university.^[4]

A relentless self-promoter, Thomas persuaded railroads to give him free passage in exchange for articles extolling rail travel. When he visited Alaska, he hit upon the novel idea of the travelogue, movies about faraway places. When the United States entered World War I, he was part of an official party sent by President Wilson, former president of Princeton, to "compile a history of the conflict." In reality the mission was not academic. The war was not popular in the United States, and Thomas was sent to find material that would encourage the American people to support it. Thomas did not want to merely write about the war, he wanted to film it. He estimated that $75,000 would be needed for filming, which the U.S. government thought too expensive, and so he turned to a group of 18 Chicago meat packers (He had done them a favor by exposing someone who was blackmailing them, without the damaging material becoming public.).^[5]

Thomas began his career as a reporter with newspapers in Cripple Creek and Denver, Colorado, 1911-12. From 1912 until 1914, he was a reporter for several newspapers in Illinois, including the Chicago Journal. He was also an instructor in oratory at Kent College of Law in Chicago during that time. In 1915, he began lecturing on travel, which he did until his death in 1981. In 1930, he began a nightly network radio news broadcast, which was on CBS, 1930-32; NBC, 1932-47; and again on CBS, 1947-76. Between the wars, he took on as his secretary the Canadian-born Electra Nicks. He also hosted a television series, High Adventures, from 1957 until 1959. He was the producer of a television series for BBC, The World of Lowell Thomas. Thomas was also a prolific author, with many of his books centering around his worldwide travels. Some of his titles are With Lawrence in Arabia; Beyond Khyber Pass; European Skyways: The Story of a Tour of Europe by Airplane; Kabluk of the Eskimos; The Untold Story of Exploration; Seeing Canada with Lowell Thomas; Seeing India with Lowell Thomas; Seeing Japan with Lowell Thomas; How to Keep Mentally Fit; Stand Fast for Freedom; History as You Heard It; and So Long Until Tomorrow: From Quaker Hill to Kathmandu.^[6]

Lowell Thomas was the author of 62 books and a member of;^[7]

Bohemian Grove

Dutch Treat Club (1934-81)

Freemasonry

Kappa Sigma Fraternity

Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity

Royal Geographical Society

Sigma Delta Chi Honor Society

Tau Kappa Alpha Forensic Society

Presidential Medal of Freedom 1976

Radio Hall of Fame 1989

1900 United States Census, German Township, Palestine, Darke, Ohio: Jonathan Wagoner is head of household, a landlord, age 67, with wife Elizabeth Wagoner age 65, and daughter Hattie Thomas and Hattie's son Lowell J. Thomas age 8.

Sources

1. ↑ Lowell Thomas at Wikipedia
2. ↑ Ohio Authors
3. ↑ Lowell Thomas at Wikipedia
4. ↑ Lowell Thomas at Wikipedia
5. ↑ Lowell Thomas at Wikipedia
6. ↑ Ohio Authors
7. ↑ Notable Names Database

• Lowell Thomas at Wikipedia
• NNDB
• Ohio Authors
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 21 December 2020), memorial page for Lowell Thomas (6 Apr 1892–29 Aug 1981), Find A Grave: Memorial #22877, citing Christ Church Cemetery, Pawling, Dutchess County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68NQ-3W6?cc=1325221&wc=9BQJ-JHC%3A1030551701%2C1034046001%2C1034046002 : 5 August 2014), Ohio > Darke > ED 53 German Township Palestine village (part) > image 18 of 33; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jackie Overland for creating WikiTree profile Thomas-8702 through the import of Munn-Overland Family.ged on Apr 15, 2013.