La Marcus Adna Thompson (March 8, 1848 - May 8, 1919, Ohio) is best known for his early work developing roller coasters, and is sometimes called the "Father of Gravity". Although over his lifetime, Thompson accumulated nearly thirty patents related to roller coaster technologies and built dozens of coasters in the U.S., he did not invent the device; that credit goes to John G. Taylor who patented it under the name "Inclined Railway".

His Switchback Railway opened at Coney Island in 1884 and was the first gravity-powered roller coaster built in the United States, which was inspired by the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, located in what is now Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

His Orient Scenic Railway ride opened in 1887 on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Not a thrill ride, with its maximum speed of 6 mph (10 km/h), it took riders through an elaborate themed environment of artificial scenery and dramatic lighting effects. He went on to build other similar Scenic Railway rides, which are often seen as anticipating present-day theme park rides such as Big Thunder Mountain.

External links

• Obituary for Thompson from the New York Times, March 9, 1919, at Toledo's Attic

1848 births | 1919 deaths | Amusement ride makers