F. Hampton Roy passed away on October 8, 2020. Born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1937, Hampton worked as an ophthalmologist specializing in cataract surgery. He is the author of more than 40 books related to ophthalmology, as well as books related to Little Rock history and religion. Preservationists still use a book he co-authored called How We Lived: Little Rock as an American City (co-authored with Charles Witsell, Jr. and Cheryl Nichols), and his book about architect Charles Thompson, Charles Thompson and Associates, Arkansas Architects 1885–1937.
Hampton moved to Little Rock in 1969 to take a position as a professor of ophthalmology at UAMS, where he worked until 1974. He then shifted to private practice.
Many in Little Rock knew him best as a preservationist and local politician. He worked as a city director from 1991-1995. He also won several awards for his preservation work, including the Parker Westbrook Historic Preservation Award from Preserve Arkansas (1984), the Jimmy Strawn Award from the QQA (1985), and Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects, Arkansas Chapter (1985), and the Pride in America Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior (1987).
Two properties that he helped rehabilitate are the Ada Thompson Home on Main Street and the Cornish House on Arch Street.
