We were approached on White Party night with a question, "Where does the term, Tommy Gun, come from?" Shocked not to know, I immediately shot the person dead, but did find out later. The Thompson Submachine Gun was designed in the later days of World War I by General J. T. Thompson. A revolution for that war, it soon became the social and fashion statement of the 1920's when both law and mob favored the efficient, economical, and extremely effective tool in getting to an end. (Was that too much alliteration?) Everyone loves a Tommy Gun.