His father was the editor of Youth's Companion (Thompson later edited a 1954 anthology of that magazine's best work).
He graduated from Harvard University in 1925 and served in the Coast Guard during World War II.
Thompson worked 42 years at Houghton Mifflin in Boston starting in 1924 where he led the General Trade Division for more than half those years.
[1][3] Throughout his career, he had a reputation among his colleagues for giving a priority to quality books over easy profits.
[2] He married Katherine Simonds, an editorial reader at Houghton Mifflin.