Richard Nelson Bolles

Episcopal clergyman and author (1927–2017)

Richard Nelson Bolles (March 19, 1927 – March 31, 2017) was an Episcopal clergyman and the author of the best selling job hunting book, What Color is Your Parachute?

Bolles was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the brother of investigative journalist Don Bolles and of Ann Bolles Johnson. His paternal grandfather, Stephen Bolles, was a U. S. member of Congress from Wisconsin (died 1941), and his father was for many years an editor with the Associated Press (died 1972). and graduated from Teaneck High School in 1945, where his yearbook described him stating "Dick's future will be scientific / But in which field he's not specific." After a brief stint in the United States Navy, he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying chemical engineering, and Harvard University, where he majored in physics and graduated with a B. A., cum laude. He attended General Theological Seminary (Episcopal) in New York City, from which he graduated with a master's degree in New Testament studies.

Bolles died in Danville, California, at the age of 90. and three children.

Bolles was the 2006 recipient of the National Samaritan award, joining such prestigious company as Karl Menninger, Peter Drucker, Norman Vincent Peale, Betty Ford, and Sir John Templeton. The Library of Congress in 1996 named his book as one of 25 that have shaped readers' lives. His book first appeared on The New York Times best seller list in 1979, where it remained for more than a decade.