Hunter S. Thompson, New York City, 1984 Photo by Frank Beacham The pioneer of "gonzo" journalism — Hunter S. Thompson — was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on this day 86 years ago. By age 10, Thompson was publishing his own two-page newspaper, which he sold for four cents. By his early teens, he had already began the life of drinking, vandalism and pyromania that would turn him into a bestselling writer.