Jim Thompson (designer) 357972 224072682 2008-07-07T04:53:34Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other [[Image:Jim Thompson house.jpg|thumb|right|Jim Thompson House in Bangkok.]] '''James Harrison Wilson "Jim" Thompson''' (born [[March 21]], [[1906]] in [[Greenville, Delaware|Greenville]], [[Delaware]] - unknown) was an [[United States|American]] [[businessman]] who helped revitalize [[Thailand]]'s [[silk]] and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s. A former U.S. [[military intelligence]] officer who once worked for the [[Office of Strategic Services]], Thompson mysteriously [[Missing person|disappeared]] while going for a walk on Easter Sunday, [[March 26]], [[1967]] in the [[Cameron Highlands]] of [[Malaysia]]. Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain Jim's disappearance, and there were some reported sightings of him after his disappearance, but what happened to him still remains one of the greater unsolved mysteries of Southeast Asia. ==Education and professional background== Jim Thompson was the youngest of five children of Henry and Mary Thompson, a wealthy Delaware couple. Jim's father was involved in the textile business. Jim was educated at [[St. Paul's School (U.S.)|St. Paul's School]] and [[Princeton University]]. Though Thompson studied architecture at the [[University of Pennsylvania]], he never received his degree and was therefore unable to pass the NY Architecture Board examination. Nevertheless, he practiced in [[New York City]] with Holden McLaughlin, designing summer homes and a band shell in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. During the 1930s, he led an active social life and sat on the board of the [[Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo]], all the while becoming more politically active. His increasingly liberal politics alienated him from his wealthy [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican family]], and by 1940 he had sought escape from them by military service, first in the [[Delaware National Guard]] and then in the Officer Training Corps of the [[United States Army]]. ==World War II activities== During [[World War II]], he was recruited by [[William Joseph Donovan]] and served as a commissioned officer in the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (which in 1947 was disbanded in place of the newly formed [[Central Intelligence Agency]]). Thompson used his fluent [[French language|French]] on daring missions behind enemy lines in [[German occupation of France during World War II|German-occupied France]]. After [[Victory in Europe Day]] ([[May 7]] - [[May 8]], [[1945]]), Thompson was transferred to [[Ceylon]]. He was about to be deployed in Thailand when the [[Surrender of Japan]] in August-September of the same year officially ended World War II. Thompson arrived in Thailand several weeks after [[Victory over Japan Day]] to take charge of the [[Bangkok]] OSS office. Leaving the US Army in 1946, he returned home to bring his wife back to Thailand. She did not agree to this and divorced him. Thompson returned to Bangkok, embarking on a renovation of the Oriental Hotel with a number of partners. From here he worked with a number of Thai investors to found the Thai Silk Company, in 1947. Although he officially abandoned intelligence activities, many have suspected he was still a [[non-official cover]]. During the [[Vietnam War]], his closest friend, General Edwin Black, was in charge of [[United States Air Force]] operations over [[Laos]] and Thailand. ==Return to private industry== A civilian once more, Thompson devoted himself to revitalizing a [[cottage industry]] of hand-woven [[silk]], which had for centuries been a household craft in Thailand but was dying out. Thompson located a group of Muslim ([[Cham people|Cham]]) weavers in the Bangkok neighborhood of Bankrua and provided hitherto unavailable color-fast dyes, standardized looms, and technical assistance to those interested in weaving on a piece-work basis. Besides inventing the bright jewel tones and dramatic color combinations nowadays associated with Thai silk, he raised thousands of Thailand's poorest people out of poverty, making millionaires out of his core group of weavers by giving them shares of the Thai Silk Company. His endeavour showed a profit from its first year of operation. Thompson's determination to keep his company cottage-based was significant for the women who made up the bulk of his work force. By allowing them to work at home, choosing their hours and looking after their children while weaving, they retained their position in the household while becoming breadwinners. It was only after Thompson's disappearance that the Thai Silk Company relocated its weaving operations to [[Khorat]], a city which serves as a base of operations for the [[Royal Thai Army]]. Although the Company abandoned home-based weaving in favor of factories in the early 1970s, the Thai Silk Company's Khorat facility looks more like a beautifully landscaped campus than a factory. As Thompson was building his company, he also became a major collector of Southeast Asian art, which at the time was not well-known internationally. He built a superb collection of Buddhist and secular art not only from Thailand but from [[Burma]], [[Cambodia]] and [[Laos]], frequently travelling to those countries on buying trips. In 1958 he began what was to be the pinnacle of his architectural achievement, a new home to showcase his art collection. Formed from parts of six antique Thai houses, his home (completed in 1959) sits on a klong (canal) across from Bangkrua, where his weavers were then located. Most of the 19th century houses were dismantled and moved from [[Ayutthaya (city)|Ayutthaya]], but the largest - a weaver's house (now the living room) - came from Bangkrua. The '''[[Jim Thompson House]]''', now a museum, is the second most popular [[tourist]] attraction in Bangkok, surpassed only by the [[Grand Palace]] in visitor attendance. ==Disappearance== Thompson [[Missing person|disappeared]] mysteriously after going for an afternoon walk on Easter Sunday in the [[Cameron Highlands]] in [[Pahang]], [[Malaysia]], on [[March 26]], [[1967]]. It was unusual that he left his cigarettes and a small silver "jungle box" on the chair outside Moonlight Cottage. This suggests that he did not expect to be gone long. He was never found, and the theories for his disappearance are many, some plausible and others ridiculous. The most likely are probably that he was the victim of a robbery and accidental murder or that he fell into an aboriginal animal trap (a pit with a spike) and was buried by the [[Orang Asli]] when they discovered what had happened. [[Image:jimthompson.jpg|thumb|right|A Jim Thompson silk shop.]] ==Trivia== Thompson's disappearance inspired the 1986 entry into the [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] [[children's book]] series, ''The Case of the Silk King'' by [[Shannon Gilligan]]. ==See also== * [[List of people who have disappeared]] * [[Missing person]] * [[Military intelligence]] * [[Office of Strategic Services]] * [[Central Intelligence Agency]] * [[Silk|Silk industry]] ==References== === Books === *{{cite book | last =De Souza | first =Edward Roy | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =SOLVED! The "Mysterious" Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King | publisher =Word Association Publishers | date =2004 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = ISBN 1-932205-89-6 }} *{{cite book | last =Warren | first =William | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =The Legendary American: The Remarkable Career and Strange Disappearance of Jim Thompson | publisher =[[Houghton Mifflin]] | date =1970 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = ISBN 0-395-08302-8 }} *{{cite book | last =Warren | first =William | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Jim Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery | publisher = | date =1998 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | id = ISBN 981-3018-82-8 }} === Video === *{{cite video | people =Anderson, Hope (director) 2000 | title =Jim Thompson, Silk King | medium =VHS, DVD | publisher =[http://www.hopeandersonproductions.com/docsforsale.html Hope Anderson Productions] | location = | date = 2000 }} *{{cite video | people =Anderson, Hope (director) 2004 | title =The Jim Thompson House and Art Collection | medium =VHS | publisher =[http://www.hopeandersonproductions.com/docsforsale.html Hope Anderson Productions] | location = | date = 2004 }} === News articles === *{{cite news | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =The Silk King | work = | publisher =Time Magazine | date =1958-04-21 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810324,00.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-25 }} *{{cite news | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Millions from the Mulberry Bush | work = | publisher =Time Magazine | date =1965-07-16 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,834018,00.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-25 }} *{{cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title =American 'Silk King of Thailand' Disappears in Malaysian Jungle | work = | pages =A12 | language = | publisher =Washington Post, Times Herald | date =1967-03-28 | url =http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/210013792.html?dids=210013792:210013792&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=MAR+28%2C+1967&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=American+'Silk+King+of+Thailand'+Disappears+in+Malaysian+Jungle&pqatl=google | accessdate = 2008-03-25 }} *{{cite news | last =Foisie | first =Jack | coauthors = | title =American 'Silk King' Vanishes on Stroll in Malaysian Jungle | work = | pages =1 | language = | publisher =Los Angeles Times | date =1967-03-28 | url =http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/510436012.html?dids=510436012:510436012&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Mar+28%2C+1967&author=JACK+FOISIE&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=American+'Silk+King'+Vanishes+on+Stroll+in+Malaysian+Jungle&pqatl=google | accessdate = 2007-03-25 }} *{{cite news | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =A Walk in the Jungle | work = | publisher =Time Magazine | date =1967-04-07 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843518,00.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-15 }} *{{cite news | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Air of Intrigue | work = | publisher =Time Magazine | date =1967-05-05 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899490,00.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-25 }} *{{cite news | last =Kent | first =Jonathan | title =Mystery of missing Thai Silk King | publisher =BBC News | date =2007-03-25 | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6484761.stm | accessdate =2007-03-25 }} ==External links== * [http://www.jimthompson.com/ The Thai Silk Company] * [http://www.jimthompsonhouse.org Jim Thompson House] * [http://www.cameron-highland-destination.com/cameron-highlands-jim-thompson.html Jim Thompson disappearance in brief] * [http://www.francinemathews.com/secret_back.html Tracking the Legend: My Search for Jim Thompson] by Francine Matthews, former [[CIA]] agent * [http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.2579.html The Curious Case of Jim Thompson, Thai Silk King] by Kenneth Champeon * [http://www.dcothai.com/product_info.php?products_id=241 Jim Thompson, The Unsolved Mystery ] by William Warren {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jim}} [[Category:1906 births]] [[Category:People from New Castle County, Delaware]] [[Category:World War II spies]] [[Category:Office of Strategic Services]] [[Category:Central Intelligence Agency]] [[Category:Disappeared people]] [[Category:Unexplained disappearances]] [[Category:History of Thailand]] [[Category:American businesspeople]] [[Category:Businesspeople in fashion]] [[Category:American fashion designers]] [[de:Jim Thompson (Designer)]] [[it:Jim Thompson (stilista)]] [[ja:ジム・トンプソン]] [[th:จิม ทอมป์สัน]]