Dr. Tompkins was born in Chicago, Illinois, and received a B.S. from Loyola University in Chicago (1929) and an M.D. from the university’s Stritch School of Medicine (1932). He remained in Chicago until 1935, interning at Mercy Hospital. He spent a year at Lewis Memorial Hospital and then a year at the Municipal Contagious Disease Hospital. He began his long service in the Veterans Administration Hospital (1935–55) first at the Virginia Hospital in Little Rock, Ark., followed by Danville, Ill., Mendota, Wis., and St. Cloud, Minn. During World War II, he was commissioned in the U.S. Army, achieving the rank of Colonel while remaining in the VA system.
By 1945, Dr. Tompkins was in the VA Central Office in Washington, D.C., as Chief of Hospital Psychiatry, where he later succeeded Dr. Daniel Blain as Chief of Psychiatry and Neurology (1948), a position he retained until 1955, when he moved to New York City to become Chief of Psychiatric Services at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Coordinator of Psychiatric Activities for the Archdiocese of New York (1955–73).
Dr. Tompkins was a central figure and leader in the expansion of psychiatry following World War II. The VA built a number of mental hospitals, and federal support for research and training of mental health professionals began for the first time. This led to a vast expansion of clinical care for veterans and the involvement of medical schools with VA resources.
When he moved to New York, Dr. Tompkins continued a leadership role in American psychiatry. He was Chairman of the Professional Advisory Committee of the National Association for Mental Health (1956–70); Chairman of the New York City Community Mental Health Board (1958–69); Chairman and later President of the Board of Trustees of the New York School of Psychiatry (1959–22); President of the Mental Health Film Board (1962–69); and a Director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (1967–71). He was a clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University Medical School and contributed extensively to the psychiatric literature.
Dr. Tompkins was active in professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, the Institute of Religion and Health, the Catholic Physicians Guild, the American Academy of Neurology, and the Royal College of Psychiatry. He was closely associated with the APA throughout his professional career. He was an advisor to Dr. Daniel Blain, APA’s first Medical Director, and was a member and president of the New York District Branch (1965–66).
Dr. Tompkins served as President of the American Psychiatric Association (1966–67).