later Father M. Louis
born Jan. 31, 1915, Prades, France
died Dec. 10, 1968, Bangkok, Thai.
U.S. monk and Roman Catholic writer.
Educated in England, France, and the U.S., Merton taught English at Columbia University before entering a Trappist order in Kentucky. In 1949 he was ordained a priest. His early works, on spiritual themes, include poetry collections; the autobiographical Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which brought him international fame and led many readers to the monastic life; and The Waters of Siloe (1949), a history of the Trappists. In the 1960s his writings tended toward social criticism, Eastern philosophy, and mysticism. He was accidentally electrocuted at a monastic convention in Thailand.