Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 , The Curse of Lono , and Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs . He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories. He is known also for his lifelong use of alcohol, LSD, mescaline, and cocaine ; his love of firearms; his inveterate hatred of Richard... Nixon; and his iconoclastic contempt for authoritarianism. While suffering a bout of health problems, he committed suicide in 2005 at the age of 67. Thompson was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the first of three sons, to Jack Robert Thompson , a public insurance adjuster and World War I veteran, and Virginia Ray Davison , a librarian.
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