Bruce R. Thompson Collection

Bruce R. Thompson, was born on July 31, 1911, in Nevada. His father, Reuben C. Thompson, taught the classics, history, and philosophy at the University of Nevada, later serving as Dean of Men. In 1959, the Thompson Education Building on campus was named in honor of him.

Thompson was a University of Nevada student from 1929-1932. He was a member of the debate team, Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and the Sagebrush staff. He sang with the Reno Men's Chorus. He later earned his law degree at Stanford Law School and was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1936. He married Ellen Creek, who had also been a University of Nevada student.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the Nevada federal district court, where he served until his death in 1992. He was active in the Federal District Judges Association. His oral history, taken in 1988, became part of the Nevada Legal Oral History Project, in collaboration with the University of Nevada Oral History Program.