William Irving Thompson was born 17 Jul 1867 to Dr. Pinckney Thompson (1828-1897) and Nannie Starling Holloway Thompson (1837-1902).
Willam Irving Thompson married Lillie Monima Riekie, but they divorced in 1891.
William Irving Thompson attended Philadelphia Dental College and worked professionally as a dentist in Henderson.
Dr. Thompson served as Henderson’s Mayor from 1897-1901 and 1909-1913.
In 1904, Dr. Thompson was president of the Kentucky-Indiana-Tennessee (K.I.T.) baseball league, also known as the as the “Kitty” league.
Dr. Thompson was also a member of the park commissioners of Atkinson Park between 1897 and 1908.
Dr. William Irving Thompson died 2 Feb 1915 (aged 47) and was buried in Fernwood Cemetery / Section 13 / Lot 449 / Grave 2.
A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians By E. Polk Johnson:
WILLIAM IRVING THOMPSON, D.D.S., has the distinction of being incumbent of the office of mayor of his native city of Henderson and he has given a most progressive and admirable administration of the municipal government. His interests in Henderson are of varied order and in his native city he was engaged in the practice of his profession about ten years, at the expiration of which he virtually retired therefrom. Dr. Thompson was born at Henderson on the 17th of July, 1868, and is a son of Dr. Pinkney and Nannie (Holloway) Thompson. Dr. Pinkney Thompson was long numbered among the representative physicians and surgeons of Henderson county, where he continued to be actively engaged in the work of his profession for nearly half a century. He was graduated in the Louisville Medical College. After his graduation he established his residence at Henderson, where he continued to devote his attention to the work of his noble profession until his death, which occurred in 1898. His practice was widely disseminated and he ever maintained a strong hold upon the confidence and affectionate regard of the community, in which he so long lived and labored to goodly ends. His wife survived him and was summoned to the life eternal in 1904. Both were zealous members of the Presbyterian church and Dr. Thompson was a staunch Democrat in his political proclivities.
Dr. William Irving Thompson is indebted to the public schools of Henderson for his early educational discipline, which included a course in the high school. After leaving school he began reading medicine under the able preceptorship of his father and later he entered the Philadelphia Dental College, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1890, and from which he received his degrees of M.D. and Doctor of Dental Surgery. He forthwith opened an office at Henderson, where he was successfully engaged in the practice of his profession for a decade, since which time he has given his attention to other interests. In 1898 he was elected mayor of Henderson and in this office he served four years. In 1909 he was again elected mayor of his native city and his administration has been carried on along progressive lines, with the result that he has effected many valuable improvements in the various departments of the city government, including the extension of the sewer system and the improvement of streets. The city owns its own water works and electric light plant and is thoroughly metropolitan in its public equipments. The mayor is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party and has been an active and effective worker in its ranks. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
