Early Life
Joseph John Thompson was born on December 18, 1856, in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England (as shown in the picture above in 1859). He was born to Scottish parents. His father was a very accomplished bookseller at the time, and this is known to be where Joseph got a lot of his inspiration for his future scientific studies because he had no limit to the literature that was within his grasp. He particularly took interest in chemistry as a young man. But at the age of sixteen, his father died. This ruined Joseph’s plans on going to study engineering, because without his father, he would not be able to get an apprenticeship. This forced him to focus on his studies, and be able to get into the best possible school.