Thomas Bulfinch

Thomas Bulfinch ( born July 15, 1796 in Newton, Massachusetts, † May 27, 1867 in Boston ) was an American banker and writer. His most famous work is Bulfinch 's Mythology, one of the best known legends of books of American literature.

Life

Bulfinch came from a medium-sized merchant family. His father was the famous architect Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844), among others, the Capitol in Washington, DC Thomas Bulfinch studied at Harvard University, obtained in 1814 a Bachelor degree and taught for a time at Boston Latin School. The traditions of his family, he moved accordingly in the commercial sector: He worked as a warehouse assistant and eventually started his own business, but did not succeed as an entrepreneur. From 1836, he earned his living as an employee of the Boston Trade Bank.

In his spare time Bulfinch worked as a writer. He has written eight books, including a collection of psalms and a school edition of William Shakespeare.

The reading public of the United States were largely unknown in the 19th century, the tales and legends from Europe. Foreign languages ​​and world literature were taught only to the fewest schools. In this gap Bulfinch, who brought extensive knowledge of literature from family studies and jumped, with his retellings of ancient and medieval myths and legends. His books made ​​word ancient mythology for the first time to a wider audience in the United States accessible. In the version of the myths Bulfinch completed closest to in Virgil and Ovid.

The broad reception of Bulfinch 's Mythology began from 1881, when the work was published under this title by Edward Everett Hale. Bulfinch 's Mythology was a compilation of three books tell Bulfinch: The Age of Fable (1855 ), The Age of Chivalry (1858 ) and Legends of Charlemagne ( 1863). The book was published several times and has been one of the popular representations of classical mythology in the English-speaking world, comparable with Gustav Schwab's word of classical antiquity.

Writings (selection )

  • Hebrew Lyrical History. Boston 1853
  • The Age of Fable: Or, Stories of Gods and Heroes. Boston 1855
  • The Age of Chivalry. Boston 1858
  • The Boy Inventor: A Memoir of Matthew Edwards, Mathematical - Instrument Maker. Boston 1860
  • Legends of Charlemagne. Boston 1863
  • Poetry of the Age of Fable. Boston 1863
  • With Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch: Shakespeare Adopted for Reading Classes. Boston 1865
  • Oregon and Eldorado. Boston 1866
Newton (Massachusetts) United States Capitol Ward W. Briggs Name Authority File
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