Cameron Highlands History

About Jim Thompson

Born 21 March 1906 in Greenville, Delaware, James Harrison Wilson ‘Jim’ Thompson was an American businessman and architect who mysteriously disappeared during a stroll in Cameron Highlands on 26 March 1967. A legend in Southeast Asia, he almost single-handedly revived interest in the Thai silk industry with the establishment of the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company which survives and thrives to this day.

As legend has it, Jim Thompson had been staying at Moonlight Bungalow with close friends. He spent the morning of Easter Sunday attending a church service before moving on to a picnic lunch with his companions. By mid-afternoon, the party had returned to Moonlight Bungalow for a siesta but whatever happened during the next few hours remains an enduring mystery.

When Thompson failed to appear for tea later that day, a search was made. It was discovered that Thompson’s bed had not been lain on. His jacket was found on a chair, a cup of tea on the table and a half-smoked cigar rested against an ashtray. While it would not have been unusual for him to have gone for a stroll, given his love of the outdoors, the fact remains that decades on, still no one knows for sure what happened to Thompson on that fateful day in the highlands.

Many conspiracy theories have been put forward following his disappearance. Some say that he was attacked and killed by a tiger; others say he simply got lost and was swallowed up by the dense jungle; or had fallen into a ravine or long-forgotten animal trap. Another theory with a more sinister insinuation was that Thompson, allegedly an OSS agent (the US intelligence agency that would eventually become the CIA), had been kidnapped for his involvement in espionage.

There were even some unverified sightings of him after his disappearance, but what happened to him remains one of the greater unsolved mysteries of Southeast Asia.