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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The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God.

The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.

It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.

There is no friend like an old friend who has shared our morning days, no greeting like his welcome, no homage like his praise.

Rough work, iconoclasm, but the only way to get at truth.

Consciously or unconsciously we all strive to make the kind of a world we like.

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The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books.

Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours.

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Beware how you take away hope from another human being.

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Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man's upper chamber, if he has common sense on the ground floor.

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.

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