Thomas Merton, religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk at the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, from 1941 until his death.

Merton wrote more than 50 books over 27 years, focusing on spirituality, social justice, and pacifism, along with numerous essays and reviews. His bestselling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), is one of his most widely-read works.

Merton was an advocate for interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions and engaging in dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures such as the Dalai Lama, Japanese writer D. T. Suzuki, Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.