William Thompson (Methodist)

William Thompson (1733–1799) after John Wesley's death, was the first elected President of the Methodist Conference at Manchester in 1791.

Thompson was born in 1733 at Newtownbutler in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He entered the Wesleyan itinerancy in 1757.

During his early ministry he endured persecution including imprisonment and the impressment of several of his hearers into the Royal Navy. They were subsequently released through the intervention of the Lady Huntingdon.

After his term as President of the Methodist Conference, Thompson was involved with the sacramental controversy of the early 1790s. His pen drafted the Plan of Pacification of 1795.

He was serving as Chairman of the Birmingham District where he died on May 1, 1799.