Showing results by author "Oliver Wendell Holmes" in All Categories

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) is generally considered one of the two greatest justices of the United States Supreme Court. In more than 2000 opinions, he delineated an impressive legal philosophy that profoundly influenced American jurisprudence, particularly in the area of civil liberties and judicial restraint. In The Common Law, derived from a series of lectures delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston, Holmes systematized his legal doctrines. 

This is one of the true classics in world legal literature. Written by a master of law and language, it is a primary source book for anyone interested either in legal theory or political science. For the layman, it serves to clarify the very essence of the common law, the cornerstone of our present legal system.

Though by profession a doctor (he coined the word anesthesia) Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) was one of the leading 19th century American poets and a member of the famous Saturday Club with Emerson, Longfellow, and Lowell. The 200th anniversary of his birth occurs in 2009. Here are his major poems, including "Old Ironsides" and "The Last Leaf" in a rare audiobook collection read by Peter Marinker.

A delightful short story full of old fashioned puns. The author visits an institution for aged punsters. Much fun ensues in the punning conversations that follow.

A marvelous story of a share/carriage that lasts exactly 100 years. Told in elegant accessible poetry.

Do you know anyone who has died of puerperal fever? Probably not, thanks to this groundbreaking essay published by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1843. With great passion and intelligence, Holmes sets forth his revolutionary argument on the prevention of an illness which had claimed the lives of new mothers in epidemic proportions. Though his findings were not accepted until years later, Holmes’ seminal work can serve as a model for the presentation of life-changing medical research.

This group of 19th-century American poets was the first to rival their British counterparts in popularity. Gathered around their New England roots, they were also known as the Schoolroom or Household poets and comprised of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell and Olivier Wendell Holmes, Sr. Occasionally Ralph Waldo Emerson was included, although his poetic philosophy differed in some key aspects.