Murray Thomson Explained

Murray Thomson
Birth Date:	1922 12, mf=yes
Birth Place:	Honan, China
Death Place:	Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Nationality:	Canadian

Murray McCheyne Thomson (December 19, 1922 – May 2, 2019) was a Canadian peace activist^[1]

Thomson was born in Honan, China where his parents were Christian missionaries. Thomson founded many non-profits in Canada.^[2] He was the 1990 recipient of the Pearson Medal of Peace^{[3] [4]} for his work in peace and justice^[5] and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001.^{[6] [7]} He was also awarded the (Canadian) Golden Jubilee Medal^[8] and the Diamond Jubilee Medal^{[9] [8]} He is a former Executive Director of CUSO.

He is credited in helping the formation of:

• Grindstone Island
• The Peacefund Canada Foundation (1980s)
• Peace Brigades International (1981)
• Project Ploughshares (1976)
• Group of 78 (1980)
• Canadian Friends of Burma (1990)
• Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (2012)

Murray was a recognized international expert and advisor to governments, aid organizations, and lobbyists on disarmament and arms control.He was significantly involved in starting the United Nations World Disarmament Campaign and drafting its policy document, which was passed by the United Nations General Assembly.He continued to be active in advocating for disarmament into 2019.^[10] For several years he led a campaign among members of the Order of Canada in calling for an international Nuclear Weapons Convention. Over 1,030 members of the Order have signed the statement as of May 2019.^[11]

He died on May 2, 2019, in Ottawa, Canada.^[12]

His archives are held by William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Works

• Book: Thomson, Murray . Minutes to midnight : why more than 800 Order of Canada recipients call for nuclear disarmament . Author . Ottawa, ON . 2015 . 978-0-9696808-1-9 .
• A Time to Disarm: A Discussion Guide for Stimulating a National Dialogue on Canada and the UN's Special Session on Disarmament, 23 May - 28 June 1978 By Ernie Regehr and Murray Thomson
• Daring Confidence: The Life and Times of Andrew Thomson in China 1906–1942. By Murray Thomson
• Toward a Culture of Peace: Can We Afford to Pay the Price? By Murray Thomson

References

1. Book: Lumley. Elizabeth. The Canadian Who's who. 2000. University of Toronto Press. 0802049397. 1257.
2. Web site: Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry. April 4, 2006.
3. Web site: Murray Thomson: Ottawa's Peace Medal Winner . Sharpe . Alan . February 1991 . Peace and Environment News . 1 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160816153703/http://207.112.105.217/PEN/1991-02/sharpe.html . 16 August 2016 . dead .
4. Web site: Watson . Rick . The Peacefund Canada Foundation . Peace Brigades International Canada . 1 February 2018.
5. Web site: Murray Thomson, peace activist at 90 . Gruending . Dennis . 8 December 2012 . 1 August 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160808101434/http://www.dennisgruending.ca/2012/12/murray-thomson-peace-activist-at-90/ . 8 August 2016 . dead .
6. Web site: The Governor General announces new appointments to the Order of Canada.
7. Web site: Recipients. 11 June 2018.
8. Web site: Recipients. 11 June 2018.
9. Web site: Recipients. 11 June 2018.
10. Web site: Canada must join new negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons . Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention . 1 January 2017 . 1 February 2018.
11. Web site: Welcome . Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention . 1 December 2016 . 1 February 2018.
12. http://www.quaker.org/peaceweb/poquak01.html Murray Thomson at Peaceweb/Peace/Ottawa

Further reading

• Web site: 17 September 1990 . Murray Thomson . United Nations Association In Canada . 1 February 2018.
• Stieren . Carl . 1995 . Ottawa Quakers active in peace work (a selection) . Peaceweb . 1 . 1 . Peace and Social Concerns Committee, Ottawa Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends .
• 20 October 2001 . Government House: Order of Canada . Canada Gazette . 135 . 42 . (HTML)
• Web site: Thomson . Murray . Presentation from CFOB's 20th Anniversary Party . YouTube.
• Peace activist Murray Thomson dies at 96
• Web site: Murray Thomson fonds - Search Research Collections. McMaster University Library. William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections. 7 November 2019.