In a cathode ray tube experiment, the CRT would be the area of interest and electrons are ejected from the cathode into the tube and are incident on the glass behind the anode. The statement that cathode is the electrode where reduction takes place is slightly misleading. This is because oxidation and reduction take place simultaneously (have to).
Cathode "rays" had been known for some time before Thomson. They were first observed as experiments in gas discharge tubes started to exploit better and better vacuums (the early experiments observed the varying forms of discharge in low pressure gases; cathode rays only become significant when there is very little gas left in the tubes).
Why cathode rays are produced if pressure of the gas discharge tube is lowered to about $10^{-4}$ atm? How bombardment of glass of gas discharge tube from cathode ray result in a faint glow?
THIS book was first published in 1937 under the title “The Low Voltage Cathode Ray Tube”, which was somewhat misleading in view of the fact that it deals with the various forms of cathode ray tube ...
electrons - How did J. J. Thomson prove that the cathode rays were made ...
Designation of anode and cathode So labeling the anode and the cathode relies on an analogy between a voltaic cell and a photovoltaic cell as a source of electrical work. It makes sense to use the direction of electron flow in the external circuit to define anode and cathode (electrons flow from anode to cathode in the external circuit).
66 In a galvanic (voltaic) cell, the anode is considered negative and the cathode is considered positive. This seems reasonable as the anode is the source of electrons and cathode is where the electrons flow. However, in an electrolytic cell, the anode is taken to be positive while the cathode is now negative.