By the time of his death on December 10, 1968, Thomas Merton had become that memorable paradox, a celebrity monk. Although he led a largely cloistered life as a Trappist at the Abbey of Gethsemani in rural Kentucky, Merton’s many books, including his bestselling 1948 memoir, The Seven Storey Mountain, made him a literary star.

Merton struggled to reconcile his religious calling with his global stature. His desire to address political topics such as nuclear proliferation and civil rights brought him into conflict with leaders of his Cistercian order. And his hunger for travel was hard to balance with his monastic obligations. He was attending a conference of Catholic and non-Christian monks in Thailand when a short circuit in a floor fan apparently electrocuted him in his room.