Holmes, Oliver Wendell Jr. (the Great Dissenter)

US Jurist

fought in Civil War 1861-1864 and wounded at battles of Ball's Bluff 1861, Antietam 1862, Fredericksburg 1863

admitted to Massachusetts bar 1867

partner in law firm Shattuck, Holmes and Munroe 1873-1882

wrote "The Common Law" 1881

associate justice of Massachusetts supreme court 1882-1899

chief justice of Massachusetts supreme court 1899-1902

Supreme Court justice 1902-1932

wrote decisions for Schenck v. US 1919 (9-0, free speech that poses "clear and present danger" can be curtailed), Buck v. Bell 1927 (8-1, states can sterilize mentally retarded people without their consent)

son of Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

• "I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving -- we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor."
• "Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body."
• "Every calling is great when greatly pursued."
• "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains it's original dimensions."
• "Taxes are the price we pay for civilization."