Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894
Variant namesHolmes (Harvard, M.D. 1836) was Parkman Professor of Anatomy at Harvard Medical School from 1847 to 1882, dean of the Medical School from 1847 to 1853, and a noted essayist and poet. A paper on the contagiousness of puerperal fever, presented at an 1843 meeting of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, was his most famous contribution to medicine. His indictment of physicians for their role in causing and spreading the fever was one of the most controversial treatises of the time.
From the description of Papers of Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1843-1888 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 281431739
Oliver Wendell Holmes was a central figure in 19th century America and a key member of New England society. A doctor, long-time Harvard anatomy professor, medical scholar, and author, Holmes is well-remembered for his poem, Old Ironsides, and his collection of essays, The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. His medical essays represented significant contributions to germ theory, and his views on social and political issues were influential. His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. became a renowned Supreme Court Justice.
From the description of Oliver Wendell Holmes letters, 1871-1877. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 53943023
Oliver Wendell Holmes was a physician and man of letters.
He was born in Cambridge, Mass. in 1809. He received his B.A in 1829 from Harvard University and the M.D., 1836. He was appointed professor of Anatomy at Dartmouth (1838-40) and at Harvard (1847-82). Holmes practiced medicine in Boston and wrote several medical pamphlets. His first volume of poetry was published in Boston, 1836, and followed by more verse, several novels, and various essay series, among them "The Autocrat at the Breakfast Table" (1857). He was the father of Supreme Court jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935). Oliver Wendell Holmes died in 1894.
From the description of Oliver Wendell Holmes collection, 1852-1936. (Johns Hopkins University). WorldCat record id: 48380040
Scientist, teacher, lecturer, essayist, writer.
Holmes was born August 29, 1809 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1829, he studied at the law school for a year. He gave up law in favor of a career in medicine. He rounded out his training at the Harvard Medical School with 2 years of study in Paris, 1833-1835, where he learned new techniques and approaches in medicine, reflected in two important early papers, "Homeopathy, and Its Kindred Delusions," 1842, and "The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever," 1843. Holmes took his medical degree at Harvard in 1836. From 1838 to 1840 he served as professor of anatomy at Dartmouth College. In 1840 he married Amelia Lee Jackson and returned to general practice. He was appointed Parkman professor of anatomy and physiology at Harvard Medical School in 1847 and served as dean from 1847 to 1853. Holmes remained at Harvard until 1882 and established himself as an excellent lecturer and teacher. He died on October 7, 1894.
From the description of Letters, 1860-1877. (Florida State University). WorldCat record id: 50658758
Biographical Note
-
1809, Aug. 29:
Born, Cambridge, Mass. -
1829:
Graduated, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. -
1830:
Wrote poem "Old Ironsides," generating interest in the preservation of the Constitution (Ship) -
1836:
M.D. degree, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass. Published first volume of verse, Poems (Boston: Otis, Broaders and Co.) -
1839 -1840 :Professor of anatomy and physiology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. -
1840:
Married Amelia Lee Jackson -
1843:
Read and published medical paper, Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever (republished in 1936, [Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins]) -
1847 -1853 :Dean, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass. -
1847 -1882 :Professor of anatomy and physiology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.; professor emeritus, 1882-1894 -
1857:
Helped establish the Atlantic Monthly -
1858:
Published The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Co.) -
1894, Oct. 7:
Died, Boston, Mass.
From the guide to the Oliver Wendell Holmes Papers, 1837-1931, (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)
| Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
|---|---|---|---|
| creatorOf | Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1841-1935. Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr. Harvard Law School Library Digital Suite. | Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 |
Filters:
| Relation | Name |
|---|---|
| associatedWith | Abby Louisa Gilman |
| correspondedWith | Aberdeen, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th earl, 1784-1860 |
| associatedWith | Abiel Holmes |
| associatedWith | Abiel Holmes |
| associatedWith | Abiel Holmes. |
| associatedWith | Ackland, William Hayes, 1885-1940. |
| correspondedWith | Adams, Charles Follen, 1842-1918 |
| associatedWith | Adams, Charles Francis, 1807-1886 |
| associatedWith | Adams, Charles Francis, 1835-1915 |
| associatedWith | Adams, Henry, 1838-1918 |
Person
Birth 1809-08-29
Death 1894-10-07
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Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894
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