White House Historical Association

Leon Thompson

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"Leon Thompson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/770.
Positions
Butler
Chauffeur
Clerk
Steward
Years in President's House
1929 – 1933
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidency
Herbert Hoover
Biography
Leon Thompson was born in Maryland around 1894.1 During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army’s 351st Field Artillery, attaining the rank of sergeant.2 Later, he worked as a steward on the USS Kilkenny, a government revenue boat, and served then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.3 He went on to work for the Hoovers in their S Street home in Washington, D.C. and at the White House from 1929-1933. He was listed under various titles there, including assistant butler, chauffeur, steward, and receiving clerk, and his wife, Agnes, worked there as Mrs. Hoover’s personal maid. His brother Herman served as houseman on staff. Leon and Herman were both members of the Chandelier Club– a social group of African-American White House domestic employees who gathered outside of work. Agnes and Leon both left the White House with the Hoovers in 1933.4 Afterward, he worked for the War Department until his retirement in 1955. He was also a leader in his local house of worship, Asbury Methodist Church. Leon Thompson died on December 1, 1962, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.5
  1. Thompson’s birth year is listed differently on his gravestone (1894), obituaries, and census data. Military documentation lists 1895. See “Thomson, Leon,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghUaG9tcHNvbhIETGVvbg--/; Leon Thompson in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; World War Ii Draft Cards (Fourth Registration) For the District of Columbia; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147; Box or Roll Number: 068, Ancestry.com.
  2. “Leon Thompson, Assistant to Hoover, U.S. Worker,” Evening Star, December 3, 1962, pg. 31;“Thomson, Leon,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghUaG9tcHNvbhIETGVvbg--/; Leon Thompson in the U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939, The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 231, Ancestry.com.
  3. “Oral History Interview with Mrs. Leon Thompson,” November 16, 1966, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
  4. Ibid; Christmas 1930, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1930, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; White House Employees, 1932, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1932, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; “Chandelier Club,” The Washington Tribune, March 25, 1932, pg. 4, Chronicling America, https://lccn.loc.gov/sn87062236.
  5. “Leon Thompson, Assistant to Hoover, U.S. Worker,” Evening Star, December 3, 1962, pg. 31;“Thomson, Leon,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CghUaG9tcHNvbhIETGVvbg--/.
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
Arlington National Cemetery
Related Workers
Ellis J. Sampson
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1929 – 1933
Agnes Thompson
Valets, Lady's Maids, and First Family Attendants, 1929 – 1933
Herman E. Thompson
Housekeeping and Laundry, 1930 – circa 1951
Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-chandelier-club