Thomas Bulfinch (July 15, 1796 – May 27, 1867[1]) was an American writer born in Newton, Massachusetts, best known for the book Bulfinch's Mythology. Bulfinch belonged to a well-educated merchant family of modest[citation needed] means. His father was Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the Massachusetts State House in Boston and parts of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy. Bulfinch supported himself through his position at the Merchants' Bank of Boston.