Profile
Oliver Wendell Holmes II — (1841-1935)
Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 8, 1841, son of the famous doctor, academic and writer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. In 1861, Holmes followed in his father’s footsteps by graduating from Harvard College and being elected class poet. Holmes was a fervent abolitionist, and joined the Union Army a month after graduation.
He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1866. He taught at Harvard College, and, through these activities, he developed his skills as a legal historian and scholar.
In 1881, he published his lectures as a book, The Common Law, which became something of a classic in legal literature and established his reputation as a talented scholar. In 1882, he was given a professorship in law at Harvard Law School and was appointed an associate justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
In December 2, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Holmes for a seat on the US Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed him with no objections two days later. As a Justice on the Court, Holmes was an independent entity. He took a sophisticated and pragmatic view of the law, approaching each case based on its facts and writing his opinions with great eloquence. In his dissents, he was often joined by Justice Louis Brandeis.
One of his most notable opinions he wrote was for Schenk v. United States (1919), in which the Court unanimously voted to protect the free speech of the individual from government interference. Holmes wrote that, unless there was a "clear and present danger" to justify government action, a "free trade in ideas" had to be promoted.
Like Justice Brandeis, Holmes chose to pay his income taxes, despite the Court’s ruling to exempt federal judges. In 1932, Holmes retired from the Court. Holmes willed his estate to the United States, and Congress used the money to fund the Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court.
Holmes served on the Massachusett's Supreme Court 1882-1902, and on the US Supreme Court, 1902-1932. Also known as "The Great Dissenter," because of his many minority opinions.
Source: History Central.com
Topics with quotes by Oliver Wendell Holmes II