David Thompson: The Man Who Looks at Stars

Early Life

David Thompson was born in Westminster (London) England. He went to a charity school for poor boys, where he learned mathematics and the basics of navigation. When he completed his studies at age fourteen, he was apprenticed to the Hudson's Bay Company as a clerk.

The Shape of Things to Come
As a child, Thompson had a deep interest in numbers. When he wasn't at school working out difficult math problems, he was enthralled in adventure stories like Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels.

Dreaming of Adventure
Thompson joined the Hudson's Bay Company for adventure. When he arrived, he was given a clerk's job, making boring lists of inventory, in a freezing cold fort.

	Fish oil -- a natural repellant. Summer at Hudson's Bay Company Churchill Factory was filled with mosquitoes. To try to keep them away, the inhabitants rubbed themselves with oil from the sturgeon.

Junior Scientist
While others swatted at mosquitoes, Thompson studied them under a microscope, making detailed observations about how they sucked blood.

Mosquito Lake Copyright/Source