Background
Thompson was born in Jersey, Licking County, Ohio on March 8, 1848.
Thompson was born in Jersey, Licking County, Ohio on March 8, 1848.
In his adolescence he became a skilled carpenter. In 1873 he began operating a grocery store in Elkhart, Indiana. There he began designing a device to manufacture seamless hosiery.
Thompson is best known for his early work developing roller coasters, and is sometimes called the "".
He did not invent the roller coaster. The history of the roller coaster dates back to at least the 17th century, and John G. Taylor obtained an earlier patent under the name "Inclined Railway".
However, over his lifetime, Thompson accumulated nearly thirty patents related to roller coaster technologies. An example is the patent granted 22 December
1885 for the Gravity Switch-back Railway.
Thompson"s Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway opened at Coney Island in 1884. A (6 mph) ride cost 5 cents. Eventually he built many more, both in the United States. and in Europe.
In 1887, along with designer James A. Griffiths, he opened the Scenic Railway on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey He was managing director of the L. A. Thompson Scenic Railway Company, 220 West 42nd Saint, incorporated in 1895.
He died at his home, Thompson Park, Glen Cove, Long Island, on May 8, 1919 aged 71.