Born: July 15, 1796 in Newton, Massachusetts, United States
Died: May 27, 1867 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Thomas Bulfinch was one of eleven children born to Hannah Aphtorp Bulfinch and Charles Bulfinch. His father Charles was the first professional architect in the United States, whose works included the central part of the Boston State House, as well as University Hall at Harvard. Thomas himself attended Harvard, graduating in 1814.
Bulfinch, who never married, apparently was not interested in politics, medicine, law or other traditional vocations, instead holding a modest bank clerk position at the Massachusetts Bank of Boston for thirty years. In addition he was the secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History.
Bulfinch's spare time was devoted to reading and writing, and his text Age of Fable, proved to be a popular text sometimes still used in schools today. This book, published in 1855, examines Celtic, Scandinavian and Oriental myths and legends. Bulfinch also wrote about Arthurian and Welsh legends in his 1858 text Age of Chivalry.