Born in East Liverpool, the son of the late Malcolm Thompson and Mildred Taylor Thompson, John C. Thompson attended East Liverpool City Schools until departing for the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., from which he was graduated as was his father before him, and his son, Douglas, in 1988.

He then was admitted to Yale University but enlisted in the Navy V-12 officer-training program before entering the university. Following military discharge, he was matriculated to Yale, where he enrolled in the Navy ROTC. Graduating with honors in 1948, he was immediately commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve.

He continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Finance before applying for active duty during the Korean Conflict in 1951. Upon completing active duty, Thompson returned to East Liverpool. It was here that his father, known affectionately as "Mac" had taken over the general management of the Hall China Company. Mac Thompson, a member of one of the town's earliest pottery families, was a brother to Millicent Thompson Hall, whose husband Robert Taggart Hall was the son of company founder, Robert Hall. Together, the family urged a young John Thompson to become part of the firm's management team.

Millicent and Robert Hall had three sons, one of which, John 'Jack' Hall served as Chief Executive Officer of the company for a number of years. In 1981 John Thompson succeeded Hall in the top spot at the company's east end headquarters. In 2003, the Hall China Co. celebrated its 100th anniversary and continues to thrive today as an industry leader with Thompson serving as chairman of the board. John Sayle, Jack HallÕs son-in-law, is the current president and CEO.

On May 31, 1963, Thompson married the former Margaret 'Peggy' Penn of Eastchester, N.Y. The couple resides on Park Boulevard where they are active members of the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. Their children are William Penn Plummer of Waynesboro, Va., Thomas E. Plummer of Nyack, N.Y., Mrs. Robert (Julia) Gorman of Redding, Conn., and Douglas M. Thompson of Danbury, Conn. There are four grandchildren, twins Abigail and Ian Gorman, Luci Gorman and Madeleine Thompson.

Thompson serves as a member of the Thompson Park Board, East Liverpool's city park donated to the community by his famous ancestor and hymnist Will Thompson. He also has served as a member of an Industry Sector Advisory Committee for the Office of U.S. Trade Representatives and Department of Commerce. He is a longtime director of the Ohio Manufacturers Association.

A lifelong booster of the Republican Party stemming from his great grandfather, John Taylor's enduring friendship with President William McKinley, Thompson has filled a variety of capacities on both the state and local level with the GOP. Active for years with the Columbiana Council, Boy Scouts of America, he was president and recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. He has played a major role in both the 1952 and the 1989 capital fund drives for East Liverpool City Hospital, where he also served as a director and chairman of the board over the years. Thompson has had involvement with the United Way, Rotary International, Theta Xi Fraternity, the University Club of Pittsburgh as well as both the Lake Placid Club and East Liverpool Country Club.

He also has been a director of three local banks, the First national Bank of East Liverpool, the First National Bank of Chester, W.Va. and currently, the First National Community Bank.