Neil Daniel Thompson, Ph.D., FASG, was born in Calexico, California, to Leah Harriet Howell and Francis Marion Thompson.

Neil obtained his A.B. at U.C.L.A. in 1957, and received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1963. He practiced law in New York. After the death of his mother and retiring from law, Neil relocated to Salt Lake City and focused his attention on genealogy and family history. He founded the Association for the Promotion of Scholarship in Genealogy, through which he was editor and publisher of The Genealogist, a journal that established a high bar of scholarship for genealogical publications. He was one of the world's great authorities on medieval families.

Neil was elected the 100th Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (elected 1974, President 1992-5), a former President of the Board of Certification of Genealogists (1983-6), and a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association and the Society of Genealogists (London). He was genealogist for a number of societies, including the Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain (affectionately known as the Royal Bastards, serving as their Herald-Genealogist 1987–2012).

Memberships

• The Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain (Herald Genealogist)
• Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (1987–2012)

Neil’s personal interests were eclectic. While in New York City, he regularly attended the Metropolitan Opera but after retirement was equally a fan of professional wrestling. He had an interest in recordings of early classical music, and other things, but his greatest love and companion was his library and book collection.