Thomson was buried in the Old Kirkyard in Thornhill and there is currently a project underway to make his childhood home in Penpont a centre for village history and a commemoration of the extraordinary life and achievements of Joseph Thomson. His biographer, Professor Robert Rotberg of Harvard University, says Thomson's memory is particularly revered because of his attitude to Africans. 'No swashbuckler, he demonstrated that the methods of travel employed by Livingstone were still of value. In order to make his way he preferred patience, cajolery, displays of magic and bluster to the actual use of force. Unlike so many other white explorers, he rarely bullied Africans, relying upon tact and persuasion. He trekked over 15,000 miles in Africa without causing more than occasional hard feelings.'
     His motto was: 'He who goes slowly, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far'. Thomson went far indeed and, according to Sanford Bederman, Professor Emeritus of Geography at Georgia State University, was 'one of the most successful and famous of all African explorers', his achievements rivalling those of both Livingstone and Stanley, his childhood heroes.

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