The son of the prominent physician and author, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Holmes was educated at Harvard University. He served with distinction in the Civil War and was wounded three times. He left the army in 1864 as a lieutenant colonel and returned to Harvard where he received his law degree in 1866. He joined a small Boston law practice and, in 1870, became an editor of the American Law Review. In 1881, he published The Common Law, a much respected and unique work in jurisprudence. In 1882, he became a professor of law at Harvard, but left shortly afterwards to become a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In 1899, he became the chief justice of the court and in 1902, was named to the US Supreme Court by President Theodore Roosevelt. Holmes served on the court until 1932 when, at the age of 90, he was persuaded to step down because of his age. Over the years on the court, Holmes was one of the most respected justices and delivered important opinions on a number of issues. His papers were donated to Harvard University after his death from pneumonia at the age of 94. |
