Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
O'Brien, Thomas J. [2]
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
- O'Brien, Thomas J. [2], d. 1980
Other form(s) of name
- Thomas J. O'Brien
- Thomas O'Brien
- Tom O'Brien
- Tom J. O'Brien
- O'Brien, Tom
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
d. 1980
History
Thomas J. O'Brien served with John Paul Merton (Thomas' younger brother) in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Canada and instructed John Paul in flying. Later, O'Brien applied for entry to the Trappists at Gethsemani, but was denied entry. Merton mentions him as a postulant at Gethsemani in November of 1958. He responds to a letter from O'Brien in 1961 (O'Brien's letter not extant) suggesting other monasteries that might be better for O'Brien. O'Brien lived at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1958 to his death in 1980, later becoming its manager.