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78 WILLIAM J. THOMPKINS. While Mr. Logan has been a successful teacher and disciplinarian, he has never acknowledged teaching to be his vocation. Ever since he was ten years of age he has been anxious to publish a newspaper. When a boy he spent much of his playtime in "making" a newspaper of wrapping paper upon which the happenings of the community were rudely printed or written. In 1901, Mr. Logan put into execution the plan which had grown up with him, and in the town of Columbia, Missouri, on Friday, November 1, he put into the journalistic world The Professional World, a weekly newspaper which has become one of the leading race journals of the West. It bears the distinction of having not missed an issue since its beginning. In public service he has taken an active part in politics. In 1898 he was the youngest delegate to the Republican State Convention, held in St. Louis. He is strong in his convictions and possesses a spirit of determination which will make him successful at whatever he undertakes. In his dual capacity of teacher and editor much may yet be expected of him as a leader and race man. [[line]] Dr. WILLIAM J. THOMPKINS, now of Washington, D.C., is a young man of whom Jefferson City, Lincoln Institute and Missouri might well be proud, for he was born July 6, 1878, in Jefferson City, Mo., educated in and graduated from the public schools there, from there he entered the Normal Department of Lincoln Institute, from which he was graduated in 1901, receiv- [[end page]] [[start page]] 79 WILLIAM J. THOMPKINS. ing the degree of B.S.D. On Class Day he delivered the address to the undergraduates. While at Lincoln his musical voice enabled him to become the leader of the Glee Club for two years, and also a member of the Lincoln Choral Society and Quartet. Besides possessing a rich mellow baritone voice, his proficiency upon the clarionet secured for him an established position with the Lincoln Institute Band and Orchestra. After finishing his education at Lincoln, he took up the profession of medicine at University of Colorado, located at Boulder, Colorado, in September, 1901, where he remained during his Sophomore and Freshman years. While there his college spirit and ceaseless activity manifested itself again. In the contest held for the Colorado Glee Club, Dr. Thompkins was one of the few who withstood the test. I might add that he was the only negro among the wealthy aristocratic members of the Club. Like most all college men he there became interested in college athletics. By developing into a quarter of a mile sprinter he succeeded in having the honor of being a member of the track team. Because of the exceptional clinical advantages, and also because of the environments, contact and the facilities for study and research that only the National capital can offer, he left the University of Colorado and entered the Junior class of the Medical department of Howard University, Washington, D.C., in 1903, [[end page]]
