John Thompson, famous author of piano teaching methods....?

Question

John Thompson from Philadelphia, the author of many influential piano teaching books - "Modern Piano Course" - "Teaching Little Fingers To Play" - "Adult Piano Course" had begun a successful European touring career that was interrupted by World War One. He came to Kansas City, Missouri in 1918 to join the University Conservatory of Music Department, where he was named Director and served until 1939. His teaching books had and still have immense success, and generations of pianists have started with the Thompson books.

He was my grandmother's piano teacher in the early 1920's in Kansas City. I'm compiling a family history, and can't find any good biographical info on him. Wondering if anyone reading this might know how to find any personal information on him. Thanks!

Answer 1

I got 163 hits in Google with two exact phrases and a single word:

"John Thompson" "piano teacher" biography

You might repeat the exercise. I'm on dial-up and a lot of the hits were PDF. You could also search the GenForum and Ancestry "Thompson" surname boards.