LaMarcus Adna Thompson (March 8, 1848 – May 8, 1919) was an American inventor and businessman most famous for developing a variety of gravity rides and roller coasters.

[1] Thompson is best known for his early work developing roller coasters and for inventing the scenic railway genre of rides.

Over his lifetime, Thompson accumulated nearly thirty patents related to roller coaster technologies.

[3] Thompson's work built upon an earlier patent for an "Inclined Plane Railway", filed in 1878 by Richard Knudson.

[4] Thompson's breakthrough ride was the "Gravity Switchback Railway", which opened at Coney Island in 1884.