Oral History Interview, John Thomson (134)

Abstract

In his 1978 interview for the Arboretum History Series, John Thomson speaks about his time as a graduate student at UW, his experiences with botany faculty including Norman Fassett, and his work at the Arboretum, particularly focusing on prairies. In his 1984 interview for the Life Sciences series, Thomson speaks about the botany department from the 1930s-1950s, touching again on his work with Normal Fassett. He talks about his appointment to the department in 1944, 1950’s departmental problems, research on lichens, and more. In his 2002 interview, Thomson speaks about his childhood and education, his master's and PhD research on prairies and abandoned fields, and his appointment to UW-Madison as a professor of botany. These interviews were conducted for inclusion into the UW-Madison Archives and Records Management oral history collection.