Oliver Wendell Holmes

American physician and poet (1809–1894)

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About

Oliver Wendell Holmes, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a physician, professor of anatomy at Harvard, and writer. He published a groundbreaking medical essay on the contagiousness of puerperal fever and introduced the microscope into medical education. A member of the Fireside Poets, he is famous for 'Old Ironsides' and 'The Chambered Nautilus.' He also wrote novels exploring the links between psychology and physiology. His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

* 1809-08-28 — † 1894-10-07

Major works

  • Old Ironsides (1830)poem
  • The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858)essays
  • The Chambered Nautilus (1858)poem
  • Elsie Venner (1861)novel
  • The Guardian Angel (1867)novel

Key milestones

  • 1843Publishes the medical essay 'The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever.'
  • 1847Becomes Parkman Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Harvard Medical School.
  • 1857Names the magazine The Atlantic Monthly.

Themes

medicinepoetrynaturepsychologyphysiology

Sources: id.loc.gov · britannica.com