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T H O 
T H O 
had never read, and which 'most certainly he did not under¬ 
stand. The scheme of philosophy which he substituted in 
its place was received with little applause, and soon sunk 
into oblivion ; but his attempt to overturn the system of the 
Peripatetics, and to restore the freedom of philosophical in¬ 
quiry, was attended with remarkable success, made in a lit¬ 
tle time the most rapid progress, and produced such admira¬ 
ble effects, that Thomasius is looked upon to this day, as 
the chief of those bold spirits who pulled down philosophi¬ 
cal tyranny from its throne in Germany, and gave a mortal 
blow to what was called the Sectarian philosophy in that 
country.” 
THOMASTOWN, a town of Ireland, in the county of 
Kilkenny, pleasantly situated on the river Nore, over which 
a beautiful bridge is constructed. It was a borough pre¬ 
vious to the union of Ireland with Great Britain; 8 miles 
south east of Kilkenny. 
THOMASTOWN, a post township of the United States, 
in Lincoln county, Maine, on the east side of the river 
St. George, and on the west side of Penobscot bay. It is a 
flourishing township, and contains two churches, one for 
Congregationalists, and one for Baptists; 7 miles south of 
Camden, and 190 north-east of Boston. Population 2100. 
THOME, St., a settlement on a plain of the island of 
St. Domingo, not far from the source of the river Antibonito. 
THOME, St., a river of Brazil, which turns south-south¬ 
west, and enters the Uruguay near its source. 
THO'MIST, s. A schoolman following the opinion of 
Thomas Aquinas, in opposition to the Scotists. See Scot- 
ist. —The university was filled with the jargon and disputes 
of the Scotists and Thomists. Warton. 
THOMPSON (Sir Benjamin), Count of Rumford, distin¬ 
guished by his assiduity and zeal in the promotion of science, 
and in devising and executing schemes of public utility, was 
born at the village of Rumford, in New England, in the year 
1752; and with the assistance afforded him by a professor 
of natural philosophy in the American university of Cam¬ 
bridge, acquired in early life such a degree of knowledge, 
as enabled him to give instruction to others. By an advan¬ 
tageous marriage, while he was young, his advancement was 
accelerated, so that he obtained the rank of a major in the 
militia of his native district. When the war broke out 
between the mother-country and her colonies, he took part 
with the former, and by means of his local knowledge, he 
rendered himself useful to the British generals in America. 
In process of time he repaired to England, and recommend¬ 
ing himself to lord George Germaine, the chief minister in 
the American department, he obtained a plaoe in his office. 
Towards the close of the war, the same nobleman, with a 
view of securing for him a permanent provision, sent him to 
New York, where he raised a regiment of dragoons, and by 
being appointed lieutenant-colonel, became entitled to half¬ 
pay. Upon his return to England, his Majesty, in 1784, 
conferred upon him the honour of knighthood ; and for 
some time he occupied the post of one of the under-secretaries 
of state. Soon after he made a tour to the continent, and 
being warmly recommended by the prince of Deux-Ponts, 
afterwards king of Bavaria, to his relation the reigning elector 
palatine, and duke of Bavaria, he was admitted into his ser¬ 
vice, and occupied an eminent station. He had thus an 
opportunity of effecting many important and useful reforms 
in the departments of the state, both civil and military, 
especially in the suppression of mendicity, which prevailed 
not only at Munich, the capital, but through the whole 
country, to an alarming extent. For his services, Sir Ben¬ 
jamin was decorated by the Bavarian sovereign with several 
orders, promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and 
created a count by the title of his native place, Rumford. 
During his abode at Munich, he commenced his experiments 
upon the improvement of fire-places, with respect to the 
economy of fuel, and the convenience of cooking ; and also 
bis plans for a cheaper and more nutritive mode of feeding 
the poor, which gave him peculiar celebrity. Having quitted 
Bavaria in 1799, he resided for some time in this country, 
pursuing a variety or experiments on the nature and applica¬ 
tion of heat, and the construction of chimneys, grates, and 
fire-places. He,also promoted science both by his own re¬ 
searches and experiments, and by liberally exciting emulation 
in others upon a more enlarged plan. For the latter purpose, 
he transferred, on an occasional visit to this country in 1796, 
to the Royal Society of London, of which he was a member, 
1000/. 3 per cent, stock, the interest of which was to be 
applied every second year as a premium to the author of the 
most important discovery on the subjects of heat and light 
in any part of Europe during the two preceding years; the 
preference to be always given to such discoveries as, in the 
opinion of the president and council, tend most to the bene¬ 
fit of mankind; which indeed was the leading object of all 
his researches. He also suggested the plan, and assisted in 
the formation of the Royal Institution. 
In the year 1802, he left England for Paris, which became 
his fixed residence; and he obtained permission from the 
king of Bavaria to continue in France, and to enjoy his 
pension of 1200/. a-year. He lived in a state of retirement, 
until an attack of low fever carried him off in August, 1814, 
in his 63d year. By his first wife he had one daughter. 
Although Count Rumford was not a learned man, he ac¬ 
quired by his knowledge of the French and German lan¬ 
guages, and by his extensive acquaintance, and frequent con¬ 
versation with literary men, a large stock of literature and 
science. The papers v'hich he communicated both to the 
Royal Society and French Institute, and which are published 
in their Transactions and Memoirs, are numerous. The only 
separate publication of Count Rumford was a series of “ Es¬ 
says, Experimental, Political, Economical, and Philosophi¬ 
cal,” commencing with the year 1796, and continued to 18 
in number, and occupying 4 vols. 8vo. Gent. Mag. 
THOMPSON, a parish of England, in Norfolk; 3 miles 
south-bv-east of Watton. Population 366. 
THOMPSON, Winterrorne, a parish of England, in 
Dorsetshire ; 7 miles south-by-east of Blandford Forum. 
THOMPSON, a post township of the United States, in 
Windham county, Connecticut, in the north-east corner of 
the state; 51 miles south-west of Boston. Population 2467. 
THOMPSON, a post township of the United States, and 
capital of Sullivan county, New York. It is watered by the 
Neversink, and contains the villages of Thompson, Monti- 
cello, and Bridgeville. The county buildings are at Monti- 
cello; 83 miles west of Newburgh. Population 1290. 
THOMPSON’S CREEK, a river of North America, 
which runs into the Missouri, 148 miles below the Great Falls. 
THOMPSON’S CREEK, a river of the United States, in 
South Carolina, which runs south-east into the Great Pedee, 
below Chatham. 
THOMPSON’S CREEK, a river of the United States, in 
Mississippi, which runs into the Mississippi. Lat. 30.59. N. 
long. 91. 30. W. 
THOMPSON’S HARBOUR, in Hudson’s Bay. Lat. 60. 
20. N. long. 78. W. 
THOMPSON'S ISLAND, a small island of Upper Ca¬ 
nada, at the entrance of the river St. Claire. 
THOMPSONTOWN, a township of the United States, 
in Oxford county, Maine. 
THOMPSONTOWN, a post township of the United 
States, in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania. 
THOMSON (James), a popular English poet, was born 
at Ednam, near Kelso, in Scotland, in the year 1700, being 
one of the nine children of the minister of that place. 
Whilst he was at school at Jedburgh, he manifested no 
powers superior to those of other boys, except in a taste for 
poetry, which he betimes indulged, and which introduced 
him, during his vacations, to the society of some neighbour¬ 
ing gentlemen. Of his productions, however, he thought so 
humbly, that on New-year’s day he committed to the flames 
those of each preceding year. From Jedburgh he was re¬ 
moved to the university of Edinburgh, where he persevered 
in the cultivation and exercise of his poetical talents; and 
after spending some time as private tutor in the family of 
lord Binning, he determined, at the suggestion of a lady, 
who was his mother’s friend, to try his fortune in London. 
