Lowell Thomas, Jr.

Lowell Thomas, Jr.
3rd Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
In office
December 2, 1974  December 4, 1978
Governor Jay Hammond
Preceded by H. A. Boucher
Succeeded by Terry Miller
Member of the Alaska Senate
In office
1970s
Personal details
Born (1923-10-06) October 6, 1923
London, England
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Tay
Children Anne, David
Profession author, film producer, lecturer, bush pilot
Signature

Lowell Jackson Thomas, Jr. (born October 6, 1923) is a film and television producer who collaborated with his father, the accomplished reporter and author Lowell Thomas, on several projects before becoming an Alaskan State Senator in the early 1970s, and later the third Lieutenant Governor of Alaska (19741978). In the 1980s, he owned and operated Talkeetna Air Taxi, an Alaska bush flying service.

He graduated from the Taft School in 1942 and went on to Dartmouth College, before joining the United States Army Air Corps.[1]

Lowell Thomas, Jr. was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter).

Invited with his father, Lowell Thomas Sr., by the Tibetan government to make a film there in 1949 with the hope that their reports would help persuade the U.S. government to defend Tibet against the Chinese. The trip lasted 400 days, and the father and son were the last Westerners to reach Lhasa before the Chinese. CBS did not broadcast the resultant film, Expedition to Lhasa, Tibet, until years later, but his book about the expedition, Out of This World, published in 1950 became a bestseller.[2]

In 2005, the Dalai Lama bestowed the International Campaign for Tibet's Light of Truth Award on Lowell Jr.

Among other appearances, in 1958 he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show "To Tell The Truth". In 1962 He narrated a children's recording, "The Story of Mr. Globe" which was produced by Replogle Globe, Inc in Chicago, IL.

Today, Lowell Thomas Jr. remains an active bush pilot, environmental activist, and continues to live in Alaska.

Long an inhabitant of Alaska he is best known for his interest in the Arctic Research Labs based in Barrow, AK. Much as his father had done he ventured into the harsh environment of the ice islands where research was done by scientists on the Arctic Ocean and its atmosphere including the Auroras. He published his adventure in National Geographic magazine in 1965.

References

  1. Source: Taft Bulletin 2009; "Angel of Denali"
  2. Source: Taft Bulletin 2009, "Angel of Denali"

External links

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Political offices
Preceded by
H. A. Boucher
Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
1974-1978
Succeeded by
Terry Miller


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