THOMPSON, Elizabeth, philanthropist, born in Lyndon, Vermont, 21 February, 1821. She is the daughter of Samuel Rowell, a poor farmer, and at the age of nine went. to aid in the household duties of a neighbor's family as a maid of all work, receiving as wages twenty-five cents a week. Her education was chiefly self-acquired, but she was remarkably handsome, and, while on a visit to Boston in 1843, so impressed Thomas Thompson, a well-known millionaire of that city, that he sought her acquaintance. Early in 1844 they were married, and until his death in 1869 spent much of their income for charitable purposes. The use of the entire income of his immense estate was then left to Mrs. Thompson. She has given large sums to the cause of temperance, and " Figures of Hell," a tract written by her and filled with much statistical information, has been widely circulated. Mrs. Thompson has given more than $100,000 toward providing with business pursuits the heads of families, hundreds of whom have been enabled to establish themselves by her bounty. Among her many charities is the gift of $10,000 which was expended by a commission authorized by congress to investigate the yellow fever. She founded the town of Long Mont, at the foot of the Rocky mountains, and gave 640 acres of land with $300 "to each colonist in Saline county, Kansas Mrs. Thompson contributed largely to the purchase of the Vassar college telescope, and gave to the Concord school of philosophy the building in which its summer assemblies are held. She suggested the idea of a song-service for the poor, and incurred large expense in putting it into practical operation m many of the large cities of this country. Francis B. Carpenter's painting of the " Signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln in the Presence of his Cabinet" was purchased by her and presented to congress. In consequence of this she was granted the freedom of the floor of the house, a right which no other woman, not even the president's wife, possesses. She gave $1,000 to the American association for the advancement of science in 1883, and was made its first patron. In 1885 she placed in the hands of a board of trustees, chosen for that purpose, $25,000, to be devoted to the advancement and prosecution of scientific research in its broadest sense. This trust, known as the "Elizabeth Thompson science fund," is to be controlled by the International scientific congress. Mrs. Thompson has agitated the question of the possibility of an international republic, or a world governed by laws emanating from an intelligent community. The value of this idea has been recognized by statesmen at home and abroad. The publication of a journal in England advocating her views has been announced by George J. Holyoake.