Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Boston in 1841. He was named after his father, a famous physician. Holmes was formally educated in private schools and attended Harvard University. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he entered Harvard Law School. When the Civil War broke out, Holmes discontinued his studies to serve in the Union Army. He was wounded at the battles of Ball’s Bluff, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. In 1866 Holmes graduated from Harvard Law School. He began practicing law the next year. Holmes co-edited American Law Review and produced the twelfth edition of Kent’s Commentaries on American Law. In 1881 he wrote the highly influential The Common Law. He became associate justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts in 1882 and served as its chief justice from 1899 to 1902. In 1902 Theodore Roosevelt appointed Holmes to the U.S. Supreme Court. While on the Court, Holmes became known for his powerful opinions, often in dissent, or disagreement, with the other justices. He soon became known as the Great Dissenter.
