Brooklyn Law School Mourns the Passing of Hon. William C. Thompson Sr. ’54

Hon. William C. Thompson Sr. ’54, Brooklyn's first African-American state senator and an active member of the Law School community, has died at the age of 94.

Thompson, a WWII veteran, was a significant figure in New York City politics for decades. He was a member of the state Senate from 1965 to 1968, served on the City Council from 1969 to 1973, and became an associate justice of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court. He was the father of former City Comptroller Bill Thompson Jr., whom he swore into office in 2002.

Thompson was a long-standing member and a past president of the Alumni Association Board. He also served on the President’s Advisory Council, a select group of graduates and friends of the Law School providing advice and counsel to the President, Dean, and other senior administrators on important issues. To help open doors of opportunity for African-American men, he endowed the Judge William C. Thompson ’54 Scholarship, awarded annually to an African-American male student.

In 2015, he was honored for helping to launch the Presidential Leadership Council, created to help college and high school students who are elected members of their respective student governments achieve their educational and career goals by providing them with mentors and internships.

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William C. Thompson, Pioneering Black Legislator and Judge, Dies at 94

William Thompson Sr., barrier-breaking politician, dies at 94