Thomas Leroy Hambright was born February 23, 1938, to Robert Lee Hambright and Rachel Sims Hambright in Morrisville North Carolina.

Tom graduated from Troutman High School in 1956 and Appalachian State Teachers College in Boone, North Carolina in 1960 with a master's degree.

Tom told friends of the Key West Library board member Ellen T. White that he started getting interested in history very early - when he was a toddler, and his grandmother took care of him while his parents were working 12-hour days in the cotton mills of his native North Carolina during World War II.

His grandmother was from mountain people and she used to tell him stories about the old days, it attracted his interest. In high school he was the best history student.

Tom intended to become a history teacher- but wound up in the military, serving in the U.S. Navy for 21 years, including appointments in Key West. He appeared in a September 1969, Key West Citizen story about bachelor officers, where he was described as "a genial giant of a Southern man (6 foot, 6 inches)" who reportedly "likes the southern easiness of life here."

In 1981, he retired as a Lieutenant Commander and returned to the island, where he took computer classes at the Florida Keys Community College (now the College of the Florida Keys) and went to work for the Key West Art & Historical Society as a curator for three years.

In 1985, he joined the Monroe County Public Library's Florida History Department, which had been started by Betty Bruce with a strong focus on Conch genealogy, as well as collecting photographs and documents from the islands' past.

Hambright, along with his late wife, Lynda, continued that work, helping many people trace their roots on the island. He helped people learn about local history, whether they were researching their families, their new home, or were just curious. He answered questions from journalists and historians. He and Lynda compiled an index to the Key West Citizen, a unique and essential resource for anyone researching the past in the Keys.

In the early 1990's Tom oversaw the construction of a new wing on the library with a vault to protect the collection. In 1997, he and Lynda started a newspaper column for the Key West Citizen called "Key West 100 Years Ago Today," intended to run for a year to mark the centennial of the USS Maine explosion.

The column was so popular that it continued and expanded to "Today in Keys History", which still runs in the Citizen and appears on the Florida Keys History Center website and social media accounts. It recounts events from throughout the documented history of the Keys and has included excerpts from the 19th century diary of a Key West attorney and the 1822 logbook from the USS Shark, whose crew first raised the American flag over the island.

Two hundred years later that logbook was donated and became part of the Florida Keys History Center archives.

"Tom Hambright absolutely loved the history of Key West and the Florida Keys, and he was endlessly fascinated by it. He was always inspired by Paul Harvey's phase "The Rest of the Story," and he loved to uncover the deeper, little-known back stories of the events and players," said Dr. Corey Malcom, who is now the Florida Keys History Center's Lead Historian.

"Tom was also big on sharing history, too. For over 30 years, he was the editor of the Key West Maritime Historical Society's 'Sea Heritage Journal,' the defacto Keys historical publication. And he was part of the team that selected the subjects and put together biographies for the Key West Memorial Sculpture Garden, he wrote a history of the USS Maine plot in the Key West Cemetery that determined exactly who was buried there, and he worked with Ed Knight to install the 'Forgotten Soldier' monument dedicated Key West's US Colored Troops now in Bayview Park."

The Florida Keys History Center itself is Tom's largest legacy, Malcolm said.

"For over 35 years he worked to build an important archive for Monroe County that now houses documents, photographs, and public records from the past," Malcolm said.

Anne Layton Rice, Assistant Library Director for Support Services, oversaw the work of the History Center.

"A great joy of my 23 years working with Tom was him peeking in my office door frequently to announce, 'We've got treasure!' This meant I was to proceed directly to the History Room for Tom to delightedly display and explain a new donation," Rice said. "Tom didn't just love history, he loved sharing history.

My son, now a KWHS senior, is a history honors student due to Tom's enthusiasm. Primary sources over interpretations ruled in Tom's domain."

Kimberly Matthews, Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Director of Libraries, said Tom's work will have lasting effect. "His years of dedicated service will always leave a legacy for future generations to enjoy the history of the Keys," she said.

Dr. Cori Convertito, curator, and historian at the Key West Art & Historical Society, said Tom was "a giant among men." Anyone who spoke with him quickly realized that his reverence and passion for local and maritime history was palpable - it was as though it was part of his genetic code. Serving in the U.S. Navy brought him to Key West, but it was this island and its history that ignited his true calling in life as a historian. His eagerness to read everything he could get his hands on, commit it to his eidetic memory, and share in such a cohesive and absorbing manner set him apart from all others."

Tom was named Monroe County Employee of the Year in 1999. In 2016, the City of Key West declared January 5th "Tom Hambright Day" in recognition of his service. In 2017, the Key West Art & Historical Society honored him with the prestigious Scotti Merrill Preservation Award. When he retired in 2022, the county bestowed the title of Historian Emeritus.

Tom's wife Lynda, died in 2021. Tom is survived by a large family of colleagues, friends, and admirers in the Keys and beyond.