Oliver Wendell Holmes

HOLMES, Oliver Wendell. b. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 29 August 1809; d. Boston, Mass., 7 October 1894. The son of a distinguished Congregational minister, Holmes attended Phillips Andover Academy, and Harvard College BA 1829, MD 1836), with additional study in Europe, mainly in Paris. He taught medicine at Dartmouth (1838-40), and Harvard (1847-82), serving as dean of the medical school. Holmes’ contributions to American medical practice include his paper ‘The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever’ (1843) that advocated disinfecting the hands and clothing of midwives and medical students to prevent this disease; which in turn led to a wider use of sterilizing medical procedures. He was the...