Thomas Wilson Was Not a Nazi.
Rock Creek Cemetery has this surprising stone marking Thomas Wilson's grave with the Swastika (卍). But Wilson Died in 1902, decades before the Nazis adopted the Hakenkreuz (卐) as their symbol in the 1920's.
Thomas Wilson
1834-1902
Hon. Thomas Wilson
Wilson was the the curator of Prehistoric Anthropology at the United States National Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1896 published a book on the Swastika which he denominated “The Earliest Known Symbol.”
By Thomas Wilson
Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology, U.S. National Museum
1896.
The photo below appeared in a review of that book entitled “A Review of Dr. Wilson's Swastika” which was published in the Annals of Iowa, April 1909.
Harbert's review includes biographical, genealogical and bibliographic material about Wilson along with discussion of his book.
Wilson's obituary by O.T. Mason in The American Anthropologist included the photo below:
Thomas Wilson — 1832-1902
Mason opines that: “In his career he was an example of American life,— born on a farm, practised in a mechanic's trade, instructed in law, devoted to politics, a soldier, a successful man, a representative of his government abroad, a friend of science.”
Thomas Wilson was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania on July 15, 1832. He had what is described as a “common school” education, apprenticed as a carriage maker and eventually moved to Marietta Iowa where he made “heavy plows used for breaking the new prairie land.” (See Wilson's obit in The Washington Star.) Wilson became Clerk of Court in Marietta, and studied law. He practiced law in Marietta until the out break of the Civil War.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Wilson became Lieutenant of the the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and soon became its Captain. In 1862 Wilson raised and became Captain of the 44th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Wilson left the service in 1864 with the brevet rank of Colonel. (See my note on Wilson's Civil War service.)
Colonel Wilson travelled to Washington D.C. to settle a dispute involving his military service and stayed to practice law before the Court of Claims and the U.S. Supreme Court. He was so successful that he retired in 1881. Upon his retirement he was appointed consul to Ghent Belgium. During his posting in Belgium, he took the opportunity to visit and study many prehistoric sites and museums in Europe, gathering the expertise in Anthropology/Archaeology that led on his return to Washington to his becoming curator of prehistoric anthropology in the National Museum. (See The Evening Star for a thorough biography of Wilson.)
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