Gordon R. Thompson

Gordon R. Thompson was born on March 2, 1918, in Reno, Nevada, the son of Reuben C. and Mabel M. Thompson. He graduated from Reno High School in 1936 and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1940. He went on to Stanford Law School, where he received his LL.B. in 1943, the same year he was admitted to the Nevada bar. Before joining the bench, he served on the advisory committee to the Nevada Supreme Court on the Rules of Civil Procedure from 1957 to 1959.

In 1961, Governor Grant Sawyer appointed Thompson to the Supreme Court of Nevada. At age 42, he was described as the youngest appointee to any state supreme court in the nation at that time. Occupying Seat E, he served from June 5, 1961, to January 3, 1981, was reelected three times, and served as chief justice on multiple occasions. During his tenure the court adopted the Nevada Rules on the Administrative Docket.

After leaving the Supreme Court in 1980, Thompson taught law at the Nevada School of Law at Old College. He was the younger brother of Bruce R. Thompson, who served as a federal judge from 1963 to 1978. Gordon R. Thompson died on February 4, 1995, at the age of 76.