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he had somewhat stumbled upon a cave
substantially large.
Today, the discovery of the lower level of
the Jeita Grotto is attributed to Thomson.
Altogether,Thomson spent just over 43
years in Lebanon and Palestine serving
when needed. He is credited with be-
ing one of the originators of the idea of
founding SPC.
On March 15 1913, SPC Trustees took
a vote: to name the newly constructed
building Thomson Hall, in honor of the
explorer and infamous author.
Thomson Hall
Dr WilliamThomson was the eighth
American missionary to arrive to Beirut
in 1833. Two years later, he relocated with
his pregnant wife to Jerusalem. A month
later he was on a trip to Jaffa when civil
unrest broke out in Palestine.
By the time he was able to return to Jeru-
salem after two months, he found that his
wife had given birth to a son. But he also
found her with a high fever and nearly
blind from ophthalmia. She died twelve
days after his arrival.
Thomson took his infant son and moved
back to Beirut.
In 1835, he opened a boys’ boarding
school. In 1845 a battle erupted in the
shouf village of Abeih. Carrying a white
flag,Thomson made his way to the area
and talked the British Consul in Beirut
to interfere. A truce was agreed on and a
bloody massacre prevented.
An enthusiastic geologist by nature,
Thomson threw himself in travelling
around the Levant area despite the miry
roads and swollen streams. Every nook
and cranny was noted. “He would sit
up to a late hour writing up his notes of
travel with the greatest of care (…) Every
mountain and hill, every stream and
valley, every rock and castle, every village
and hamlet, were familiar to his prac-
ticed eyes,” wrote one of AUB’s found-
ers, Henry Jessup in his memoires: Fifty
Three years in Syria.
The result was a huge collection of
descriptions of the area, the people and
their customs before the influx of western
modernities permanently changed the
habits of the inhabitants.
“He felt deeply that the bible could
only be fully and clearly understood by
remembering its oriental origin,” wrote
Jessup.
The Land and the Book was published in
1880 and immediately sold 200,000 cop-
ies. It remains in use today.
During one of his travels in 1836,Thom-
son came across a cave. He ventured 50
meters inside and came across a river.
He fired a shot into the cave and listened
closely.The echoes made him realize that
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WINTER
2010