[3] Thorne reached the All-Comers final of the U.S. National Championships in 1884, defeating future champion Henry Slocum and Clarence Clark.

He lost to Howard Taylor, who was subsequently defeated in the Challenge Round by three-time defending champion Richard D.

[4][5] Thorne started at Great Northern Railway Co. before becoming a purchasing assistant for railroad tycoon E. H. Harriman.

[6] The Bellwether League Foundation, a healthcare supply chain industry organization called Thorne the “father of cooperative buying.

"[3] The Thorne Estate in Morris Township, New Jersey, designed by Delano & Aldrich and completed in 1912, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.