Oliver Wendell Holmes

Birth: 1809-08-29 , Cambridge

Death: 1894-10-07 , Boston

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was a prominent American physician, professor, and poet, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1809. He is remembered for his contributions to medicine, particularly in the field of preventing puerperal infections, and also for his prolific literary career. As a poet, Holmes was known for his witty verses and sharp observations on 19th-century American society. He was an important figure in Boston's intellectual life and one of the founders of The Atlantic Monthly. His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., also became a renowned U.S. Supreme Court justice.

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Most persons have died before they expire—died to all earthly longings, so that the last breath is only, as it were, the locking of the door of the already deserted mansion.

What the mulberry leaf is to the silkworm, the author’s book, treatise, essay, poem, is to the critical larvae that feed upon it. It furnishes them with food and clothing.

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A mellowing rigorist is always a much pleasanter object to contemplate than a tightening liberal, as a cold day warming up to 32° Fahrenheit is much more agreeable than a warm one chilling down to the same temperature.

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The man who thinks his wife, his baby, his house, his horse, his dog, and himself severally unequalled, is almost sure to he a good-humored person, though liable to be tedious at times.

Certainty generally is illusion, and repose is not the destiny of man.

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What refuge is there for the victim who is oppressed with the feeling that there are a thousand new books he ought to read, while life is only long enough for him to attempt to read a hundred?

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It is the peculiarity of the bore that he is the last person to find himself out.

Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.

Thou, O my country, hast thy foolish ways, / Too apt to purr at every stranger’s praise!

Nothing is so common-place as to wish to be remarkable.

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Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was born on August 18, 1809, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A graduate of Harvard Medical School in 1836, he became a respected physician, professor, and writer. His medical career was marked by groundbreaking discoveries, including his pioneering research on the cause of puerperal fever, in which he argued that the disease was contagious and transmitted by physicians. Although his ideas initially faced resistance, they were eventually widely accepted and led to significant improvements in hospital hygiene. Parallel to his medical career, Holmes developed a prolific career as a poet, essayist, and lecturer. His poems, often characterized by their humor, wit, and reflections on life and society, made him one of the most popular poets in the United States during his time. He was one of the founders of the literary magazine The Atlantic Monthly in 1857, where he published many of his best-known essays. Holmes was also an active member of Boston's intellectual life, participating in literary clubs and scientific societies. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. passed away on October 7, 1894, in Boston, Massachusetts. His legacy endures in both medicine and literature, and he is remembered as one of the most influential figures of the 19th century in the United States. His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a prominent jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.