Online Encyclopedia

Academy he entered Harvard in the " famous class of '29," made further illustrious by the charming lyrics which he wrote for the anniversary dinners from 1851 to 1889, closing with the touching "After the See also:

CURFEW, CURFEU

Curfew." After See also:

GRADUATION (see also GRADUATE)

graduation he studied See also:

law perfunctorily for a See also:

YEAR

year and dabbled in literature, winning the public See also:

EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear by a spirited lyric called forth by the See also:

order to destroy the old See also:

FRIGATE

frigate Constitution. These verses were sung all over the See also:

LAND

land, and induced the See also:

NAVY

Navy See also:

DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

Department to revoke its order and See also:

SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save the old See also:

SHIP

ship. Turning next to See also:

MEDICINE

medicine, and convinced by a brief experience in See also:

Boston that he liked it, he went to See also:

Paris in See also:

March 1833. He studied industriously under See also:

Louis and other famous physicians and surgeons in See also:

France, and in his vacations visited the See also:

Low Countries, See also:

England, See also:

Scotland and See also:

Italy. Re-turning to Boston at the See also:

close of 1835, filled with a high professional ambition, he sought practice, but achieved only, moderate success. Social, brilliant in conversation, and a writer of See also:

gay little poems, he seemed to the See also:

GRAVE

grave Bostonians not sufficiently serious. He won prizes, however, for professional papers, and lectured on See also:

anatomy at See also:

Dartmouth See also:

COLLEGE (Collegium)

College. He wrote two papers on See also:

HOMOEOPATHY (from the Greek 6p:nos, like, and 7raOos, feeling)

homoeopathy, which he attacked with trenchant wit; also a valuable See also:

paper on the malarial fevers of New England.

In 1843 he published his See also:

ESSAY, ESSAYIST (Fr. essai, Late Lat. exagium, a weighing or balance; exigere, to examine; the term in general meaning any trial or effort)

essay on the Contagiousness of Puerperal See also:

FEVER (Lat. febris, connected with fervere, to burn)

Fever, which stirred up a fierce controversy and brought upon him See also:

BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867– )

bitter See also:

PERSONAL

personal abuse; but he maintained his position with dignity, See also:

TEMPER (from Lat. temperare, to mingle or compound in due proportion, to qualify, rule, regulate, to be moderate, formed from tempos, time, fit or due season)

temper and See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment; and in See also:

time he was honoured as the discoverer of a beneficent truth. The See also:

VOLUME

volume of his more sustained See also:

WORK

work, and in 1861 his novel, Elsie Venner, at medical essays holds some of his most sparkling wit, his shrewdest observation, his kindliest humanity. In 1840 he married Amelia See also:

Lee See also:

Jackson, daughter of the Hon. See also:

Charles Jackson (1775-1855), formerly See also:

ASSOCIATE (Lat. associates, from ad, to, and sociare to join)

associate See also:

JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice of the See also:

State supreme judicial See also:

court, a See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady of rare See also:

CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm alike of mind and See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character. She died in the See also:

winter of 1887–1888. Their first-born See also:

child, Oliver Wendell Holmes, afterwards became See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief justice of that same See also:

BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

bench on which his grandfather sat. In 1847 Dr Holmes was appointed See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

professor of anatomy and See also:

PHYSIOLOGY (from Gr. 4 i s, nature, and koyos, discourse)

physiology in the Medical School of Harvard University, the duties involving the giving of instruction also in kindred departments, so that, as he said, he occupied " not a See also:

CHAIR (in. Mid. Eng. chcere, through O. Fr. chaire or chaiere, from Lat. cathedra, later caledra, Gr. xaOi3pa, seat, cf. "cathedral"; the modern Fr. form chaise, a chair, has been adopted in English with a particular meaning as a form of carriage; chaire

chair, but a See also:

SETTEE

settee in the school." He delivered the anatomical lectures until See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November 1882, and in later years these were his only See also:

LINK

link with the medical profession. They were fresh, witty and lively; and the students were sent to him at .he end of the See also:

day, when they were fagged, because he alone ca old keep them awake. In later years he made few finished c lnt'ibutions to medical knowledge; his eager and impetuous temperament caused him to leave more patient investigators to push to ultimate results the suggestions thrown out by his fertile and imaginative mind. In 1836, being in that year the Phi Beta Kappa poet at Harvard University, he published his first volume of Poems, which afterwards reached a second edition. Among these earlier lyrics was " The Last See also:

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

Leaf," one of the most delicate combinations of pathos and humour in literature. His collected poetry fills three volumes.

In 1856–1857 a Boston See also:

PUBLISHING

publishing See also:

house (Phillips, See also:

SAMPSON, WILLIAM THOMAS (1840–1902)

Sampson, and Co.) invited See also:

James See also:

Russell See also:

Lowell to edit a new See also:

MAGAZINE

magazine, which he agreed to do on See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition that he could secure the assistance of Dr Holmes. By this urgent invitation the See also:

DOCTOR (Lat. for " teacher ")

Doctor was equally surprised and flattered, for heretofore he had stood rather outside the See also:

LITERARY

literary coterie of Cambridge and Boston. He accepted with See also:

PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure, and at once threw himself into the enterprise with zeal. He christened it The See also:

ATLANTIC

Atlantic Monthly; and, as Mr See also:

HOWELLS, WILLIAM DEAN (1837– )

Howells afterwards said, he " not only named but made " it, for in each number of its first volume there appeared one of the papers of the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. The opening of the Autocrat—" I was just going to say when I was interrupted "—is explained by the fact that in the old New England Magazine (1831 to 1833) the Doctor had published two Autocrat papers, which, by his wish, have never been reprinted. In the commercial panic of 18J7 the new magazine would inevitably have failed had it not been for these fascinating essays. Their originality of conception, their wit and humour, their suggestions of what then seemed bold ideas, and their expression of New Englandism, all combined to make them so popular that the most harassed See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant in that gloomy winter See also:

PURCHASED

purchased them as a dose of See also:

CHEERING

cheering medicine. Thus Dr Holmes made The Atlantic Monthly, which in return made him. A success so immediate and so splendid settled the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of his career; he ceased to be a physician and became an author. These twelve papers were immediately (1858) published as a volume. No sooner was the Autocrat silent than the Professor (18J9) succeeded him at the breakfast table. The Professor was preferred by more thoughtful readers, though it has hardly been so widely popular as the Autocrat.

Its See also:

THEOLOGY

theology, which seemed in those days audacious, frightened many of the strict and old-fashioned religionists of New England, though to-day it seems mild enough. Twelve years later, in 1871, the Landlady had another boarder, who took the vacant chair—the Poet (published 1872). But here Holmes See also:

fell a little See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short. In these three books, especially in the Autocrat and the Professor, the Doctor wrote as he talked at many a See also:

DINNER

dinner table in Boston, but less well. The animation and clash of talk roused him. The dinners of the Saturday See also:

CLUB (connected with " clump ")

Club are among Boston's proudest traditions, as they were the chief pleasure of Dr Holmes's See also:

LIFE

life. There he met See also:

Emerson, See also:

LONGFELLOW, HENRY WADSWORTH (1807-1882)

Longfellow, See also:

WHITTIER, JOHN GREENLEAF (1807-1892)

Whittier, Lowell, See also:

Sumner, See also:

Agassiz, See also:

Motley, and many other charming talkers, and among them all he was admitted to be the best. There were characters and incidents, but hardly a See also:

story, in the Autocrat and the Professor. Holmes had an ambition. forfirst called The Professor's Story, was published. The See also:

BOOK

book was illuminated throughout by admirable pictures of character and society in the typical New England See also:

TOWN

town. But the rattle-snake See also:

ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element was unduly extravagant, and in other respects the book was open to See also:

criticism as a work of See also:

art. It was written with the same purpose which informed the greatest See also:

PART

part of the Doctor's literary work, and which had already been scented and nervously condemned by the religious See also:

WORLD

world.

By See also:

HEREDITY

heredity the Doctor was a theologian; no other topic enchained him more than did the stern and merciless dogmas of his Calvinist forefathers. His humanity revolted against them, his See also:

REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason condemned them, and he set himself to their destruction as his task in literature. The religious world of his time was still so largely under the See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control of old ideas that he was assailed as a freethinker and a subverter of See also:

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity; though before his See also:

DEATH

death opinions had so changed that the bitterness of the attacks upon him seemed incredible, even to some of those who had most vehemently made them. None the less, undaunted and profoundly See also:

EARNEST (probably a corruption of the obsolete arles or erles, adapted from Lat. equivalent arrha, due to a confusion with the adjective " earnest," serious, O. Eng. eornust, cognate with Ger. ernst)

earnest, he returned, six years later, to the same See also:

LINE

line of thought in his second novel, The See also:

GUARDIAN

Guardian See also:

ANGEL

Angel (published 1867). This, though less well known than Elsie Venner, is in many respects better. No more lifelike and charming picture of the society of the New England See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country-town of the See also:

MIDDLE

middle third of the 19th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century has ever been See also:

DRAWN

drawn, and every See also:

page sparkles with wit and humour. In 1884 and 1885 it was followed, still in the same line, by A Mortal Antipathy, a See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production inferior to its predecessors. Holmes generally held himself aloof from politics, and from those " causes " of See also:

TEMPERANCE

temperance, abolition and woman's rights which enthralled most of his contemporaries in New England. The See also:

CIVIL

Civil See also:

War, however, aroused him for the time; finding him first a strenuous Unionist, it quickly converted him into an ardent See also:

ADVOCATE (Lat. advocatus, from advocare, to summon, especially in law to call in the aid of a counsel or witness, and so generally to summon to one's assistance)

advocate of emancipation. His See also:

INTEREST

interest was enhanced by the career of his See also:

elder son Oliver (see below), who was three times severely wounded, and finally See also:

rose to the See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank of lieut.-See also:

COLONEL (derived either from Lat. column, Fr. colonne, column, or Lat. corona, a crown)

colonel in the See also:

NORTHERN

Northern See also:

army. He wrote some ringing war lyrics, and in 1863 delivered the See also:

FOURTH

Fourth of See also:

JULY

July oration in Boston, which showed a masterly appreciation of the stirring public questions of the day. In 1878 Dr Holmes wrote a memoir of the historian See also:

John Lothrop Motley, an affectionate See also:

TRIBUTE (Lat. tributurn, a stated payment, contribution)

tribute to one who had been his dear friend.

In 1884 he contributed the life of Emerson to the American " Men of Letters" See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series. He admired the "See also:

SAGE, RUSSELL (1816-1906)

Sage of See also:

Concord," but was not quite in intellectual sympathy with him. Both were Liberals in thought, but in widely different ways.. But in spite of this See also:

HANDICAP

handicap the volume proved very popular. In 1888 he began the papers which he happily christened Over the See also:

TEA (Chinese cha, Amoy dialect t€)

Tea Cups. As a tour de force on the part of a See also:

man of nearly fourscore years they are very remarkable. After his return from Paris in 1835 Dr Holmes lived in Boston, with summer sojournings at See also:

PITTSFIELD

Pittsfield and See also:

BEVERLY

Beverly Farms, and occasional trips to neighbouring cities, until 1886. He then undertook a four months' See also:

JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)

journey in See also:

EUROPE

Europe, and in England had a sort of triumphal progress. On his return he wrote Our See also:

HUNDRED

Hundred Days in Europe (1887), a courteous recognition of the hospitality and praise which had been accorded to him. During this visit Cambridge University made him Doctor of Letters, See also:

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh University made him Doctor of See also:

LAWS

Laws, and See also:

Oxford University made him Doctor of Civil Law. Already, in 188o, Harvard University had made him Doctor of Laws. He died on the 7th of See also:

OCTOBER

October 1894, and was buried from See also:

King's See also:

CHAPEL

Chapel, Boston, in the See also:

CEMETERY (Gr. Korrsnri7pwv, from Hoiµav, to sleep)

cemetery of See also:

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Mount See also:

Auburn.

His eldest son Oliver Wendell (b. 1841), who graduated from Harvard in 1861 and fought in the Civil War, retiring from the army as See also:

BREVET (a diminutive of the Fr. bref)

brevet lieut.-colonel in 1864, took up the study of law and was admitted to the See also:

bar in Boston in 1866. He was for some years editor of the American Law See also:

REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

Review, and after being professor in the Harvard Law School in 1882 was appointed in the same year a See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge of the Massachusetts supreme court, rising to be chief justice in 1899. In 1902 he was made a judge of the See also:

UNITED

United States Supreme Court. His work on The See also:

COMMON

Common Law (1881) and his edition (1873) of See also:

Kent's Commentaries are his See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal publications; and he became widely recognized as one of the See also:

GREAT

great jurists of his day.

End of Article: HOLMES, OLIVER WENDELL (18o9-1894)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
HOLMAN, JAMES (1786–1857)

[next]
HOLMFIRTH