Thomas Aquinas

1225 – 1274 · died at about 49^[1][2]

Philosophy & Thought

Fun Facts About Thomas Aquinas

• Thomas Aquinas was seized by his own brothers and held prisoner for almost a year in the family castles to stop him from becoming a Dominican friar.^[1]
• Two of Aquinas's brothers hired a prostitute to seduce him. According to his canonization records, he drove her away with a burning log.^[1]
• Aquinas never finished his famous Summa. After a reported mystical experience in 1273 he stopped writing, saying that all he had written seemed "like straw" to him.^[1]
• When the devil's advocate objected that Aquinas had worked no miracles, a cardinal answered that there were as many miracles as articles in his Summa.^[1]
• On his way to the Second Council of Lyon, Aquinas, riding a donkey, struck his head on the branch of a fallen tree and became seriously ill again.^[1]
• The novelist James Joyce used to praise Aquinas as second only to Aristotle among Western philosophers.^{[1][3][4][5][6]}
• Thomas Aquinas was alive at the same time as Genghis Khan — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1225–1227).^[1][2][7][8]
• Thomas Aquinas and Stanley Kubrick died on the same day of the year, March 7.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, theologian, and philosopher. He is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Catholic theology and Western philosophy.^[1]

Contemporaries

Kublai Khan

49 yr overlap

Rumi

48 yr overlap

Marco Polo

20 yr overlap

Dante Alighieri

9 yr overlap

Genghis Khan

2 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Thomas Aquinas

When was Thomas Aquinas born?

Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 and died on March 7, 1274.

How old was Thomas Aquinas at death?

Thomas Aquinas died in 1274 at about 49 years old (1225–1274).

What was Thomas Aquinas known for?

Thomas Aquinas was known for: Greatest medieval philosopher and theologian. Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, theologian, and philosopher. He is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the history of Catholic theology and Western philosophy.

Who was alive at the same time as Thomas Aquinas?

Thomas Aquinas's closest contemporary was Kublai Khan. Their lives overlapped for 49 years.