page_title: David Thompson (explorer)
section_title: Death and afterward
hierarchical_section_title: David Thompson (explorer) / Death and afterward
caption_attribution_description: English: Statue of David Thompson and two guides in a light canoe, on the bank of Lac la Biche in the community of Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson is wearing a cap and capote common to North West Company clerks of the time. He is pointing to the place where he landed at 1:00pm (MST, approximately UTC-7) on October 4, 1798. Deutsch: Statue des David Thompson und zwei Führer in einer leichten Kanu, am Ufer des Lac La Biche in der Gemeinschaft der Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson ist das Tragen einer Mütze und Kapuze gemeinsamen North West Company Sachbearbeiter der Zeit. Er ist der Ort, wo er um 1:00 Uhr (ca. UTC-7) landete auf 4. Oktober 1798 zeigt. Español: Estatua de David Thompson y dos guías en una canoa de luz, en la orilla del lago la Biche en la comunidad de Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson lleva una gorra y capote comunes a los empleados Compañía del Noroeste de la época. Se está apuntando al lugar donde aterrizó a las 1:00 pm (TSM, aproximadamente UTC-7) el 4 de octubre de 1798. Français&#160;: Statue de David Thompson et deux guides dans un canot léger, sur la rive du Lac la Biche dans la communauté de Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson est coiffé d'une casquette et capote commune à Compagnie du Nord-Ouest greffiers du temps. Il pointe vers l'endroit où il a atterri à 13h00 (TV, environ UTC-7) le 4 Octobre 1798. Italiano: Statua del David Thompson e due guide in una canoa leggera, sulla sponda del Lac la Biche nella comunità di Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson è che indossa un cappello e Capote comune di impiegati Compagnia del Nord-Ovest del tempo. Egli è rivolto verso il luogo dove è atterrato alle 13:00 (circa UTC-7) il 4 ottobre 1798. Nederlands: Standbeeld van David Thompson en twee gidsen in een lichte kano, aan de oever van het Lac La Biche in de gemeenschap van het Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson is het dragen van een pet en Capote gemeenschappelijke North West Company griffiers van de tijd. Hij wijst naar de plaats waar hij om 1:00 uur (zonnetijd, ongeveer UTC-7) landde op 4 oktober 1798. Polski: Statua David Thompson i dwóch przewodników w świetle kajak, nad brzegiem Lac la Biche we wspólnocie Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson jest w czapce i kapota wspólne dla urzędników Kompania Północno-Zachodnia czasu. Jest on skierowany do miejsca, gdzie trafił na 13:00 (CS, około UTC-7) w dniu 4 października 1798 roku. Suomi: Patsas David Thompson ja kaksi oppaita kevyt kanootti, pankki-Lac la Biche yhteisössä Lac La Biche, Alberta. Thompson on yllään korkki ja Capote yhteisiä North West Company virkailijat ajan. Hän osoittaa, missä hän laskeutui klo 13:00 (noin UTC-7) 4. lokakuuta 1798.
context_page_description: David Thompson was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled some 90,000 kilometres across North America, mapping 4.9 million square kilometres of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
context_section_description: The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to 3.9 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles) of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
  Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
  Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
  David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
  Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
  Boat Encampment NHS, BC
  Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
  Kootenae House NHS, BC
  Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
  In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.  
  His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
  There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
  The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
  In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
  Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009.
  He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
  The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel RV David Thompson, to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
  The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
caption: David Thompson and two First Nations guides on the shore of Lac la Biche, where he landed on 4 October 1798.
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