Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894), was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858). He is recognized as an important medical reformer.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Holmes was educated at Phillips Academy and Harvard College. After graduating from Harvard in 1829, he briefly studied law before turning to the medical profession. He began writing poetry at an early age; one of his most famous works, "Old Ironsides", was published in 1830. Following training at the prestigious medical schools of Paris, Holmes was granted his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1836. He taught at Dartmouth Medical School before returning to teach at Harvard and, for a time, served as dean there. During his long professorship, he became an advocate for various medical reforms and notably posited the controversial idea that doctors were capable of carrying puerperal fever from patient to patient. Holmes retired from Harvard in 1882 and continued writing poetry, novels and essays until his death in 1894.

Surrounded by Boston's literary elite—which included friends such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Russell Lowell—Holmes made an indelible imprint on the literary world of the 19th century. Many of his works were published in The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine that he named. For his literary achievements and other accomplishments, he was awarded numerous honorary degrees from universities around the world. Holmes's writing often commemorated his native Boston area, and much of it was meant to be humorous or conversational. Some of his medical writings, notably his 1843 essay regarding the contagiousness of puerperal fever, were considered innovative for their time. He was often called upon to issue occasional poetry, or poems written specifically for an event, including many occasions at Harvard. Holmes also popularized several terms, including "Boston Brahmin" and "anesthesia".

From Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License
Sat Sep 4 01:11:26 2010

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (29 August 18098 October 1894) was an American physician, writer, poet, and the father of US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

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  • The god looked out upon the troubled deep Waked into tumult from its placid sleep; The flame of anger kindles in his eye As the wild waves ascend the lowering sky; He lifts his head above their awful height And to the distant fleet directs his sight.
    • "Translation From The Æneid, Book I" written while at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts (c. 1824)
  • Lord of all being, thronèd afar, Thy glory flames from sun and star; Center and soul of every sphere, Yet to each loving heart how near! Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray, Sheds on our path the glow of day; Star of our hope, Thy softened light Cheers the long watches of the night.
    • "Lord Of All Being" (1848)
First Amendment values don't include protecting threats of harm - Merced Sun-Star
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First Amendment values don't include protecting threats of harm

Merced Sun-Star

... cry "First Amendment" after you falsely yelled "fire" in a crowded theater and caused a panic, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously wrote in 1919. ...



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Jeremy
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Jeremy "Mason" Jones 1st Birthday

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Oliver Wendell Holmes , Jr ., upon seeing an attractive woman on his 90th birthday If I'd known I was going to live this long (100 years), I'd have taken ...
Authors Probe Roots of US Far Right - Intelligence Report
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Authors Probe Roots of US Far Right

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Grant's ideas became the accepted law of the land in 1927, when the Supreme Court upheld sterilization laws and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes endorsed them, ...
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A Layperson's Musings On a Judicial Nomination

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hu, 01 Jul 2010 13:12:30 GM

For instance, . Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ., Earl Warren and William J. Brennan disappointed Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and President Dwight Eisenhower respectively. President Eisenhower is even reputed to have remarked that he was ...

The Farmsteader Blog Archive BBQ Is An American Tradition
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The Farmsteader Blog Archive BBQ Is An American Tradition

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ue, 06 Jul 2010 11:49:24 GM

Random Quote. It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the priviledge of wisdom to listen. by . Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. . Paypal Payment. The Farmsteader Store. Special of $20 postage paid, Special of $30 postage paid ...

Is it painful for the butterfly when it comes out of the cocoon ...
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Is it painful for the butterfly when it comes out of the cocoon ...

wildsage8

hu, 08 Jul 2010 01:52:18 GM

Oliver Wendell Holmes. , . Jr. . You can at any time decide to alter the course of your life no one can take that away. Clark Moustakas. You change for only two reasons: you learn enough that you want to or you hurt enough that you have ...