Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson is an American author and journalist who is credited as the first reporter to use Gonzo Journalism, a form where reporters become as much of the story as the people or subject that they are reporting on.

Thompson first garnered a passion for writing when he joined the athenaeum literary association, who among others included future rolling stones publisher Porter Bibb.

Thompson attended Columbia University’s School of General Studies before taking a job with Time magazine as a copy boy. While working at Time, Thompson is said to have copied Fitzgerald’s Gatsby and Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms in order to study their styles of writing.

Over the course of the next 30 years Hunter S. Thompson became popular for writing extremely personal and revealing stories about the various sub-cultures across the country. He spent time with the Hell’s Angels, wrote about the Hippie culture of the 70’s, did lots of LSD and mescaline, and drank lots of alcohol.

Thompson’s most popularized work was “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” The piece was meant to be a 250-word photo caption for the Mint 400 motorcycle race. While there, Thompson turned the 250 word assignment into a 2500 word ramble about searching for the American Dream while in a constant state of drug induced hallucinations. After getting “aggressively rejected” by Sports Illustrated, Thompson took the manuscript to Rolling Stone magazine, where it would later be published as a two part series about coming to terms with the failure of the 1960’s counterculture movement.

In February 20, 2005 Hunter S. Thompson shot himself in the head while sitting at his typewriter. His wife Anita Thompson would later publish his Suicide note to Rolling Stone magazine that said, “No more games. No more bombs. No more walking. No more fun. No more swimming. 67, That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No fun – for anybody. 67. You are getting greedy. Act your (old) age. Relax – this won’t hurt.”

Thompson’s long term friend, Artist Ralph Steadman famously wrote about Thompson’s death saying, “..He told me 25 years ago that he would feel real trapped if he didn’t know that he could commit suicide at any moment. I don’t know if that is brave or stupid or what, but it was inevitable. I think that the truth of what rings through all his writing is that he meant what he said. If that is entertainment to you, well, that’s OK. If you think that it enlightened you, well, that’s even better. If you wonder if he’s gone to Heaven or Hell, rest assured he will check out them both, find out which one Richard Milhous Nixon went to — and go there. He could never stand being bored. But there must be Football too — and Peacocks…”