Helen Cargill Thompson

Helen Cargill Thompson (12 December 1933 – 28 September 2020) was a Scottish scientist, librarian, art collector and supporter of educational, artistic and heritage organisations.

Thompson attended Cheltenham Ladies College, then studied physiology and pharmacology at St Andrews University, and went on to do a PhD presenting the thesis "The assay of growth hormone and gonadotrophins in relation to clinical problems" [2] at Edinburgh University involving research into the contraceptive pill.

On August 5, 1982, she became head of the Andersonian Library's new Reference and Information Division, a post she held until her retirement in 1999.

It included works by Peter Howson, Avril Paton, James McDonald, and Neil MacPherson.

[1] Glasgow City Heritage hosted a talk on Wednesday 16 December 2020 entitled 'James Miller by Fergus Sutherland: A tribute to Dr. Helen Cargill Thompson'[7] The National Trust for Scotland Glasgow Members' Centre held a talk on Wednesday 13 January 2021 "in memory of our past chairman Dr. Helen Cargill Thomson who died in 2020" by Fergus Sutherland entitled Industrial Pleasures: the Development of Mass Entertainment in Victorian Glasgow.