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This Day in Boston History
March 8th, 1876
The Great Dissenter
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On this day, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Jr. was born in Boston. Named for his famous father,
he would become a towering figure in American jurisprudence, and one
of the Twentieth Century's most influential public figures. As a United
States Supreme Court Justice, he was known as "The Great Dissenter."
A cornerstone of Holmes's judicial philosophy was his opinion that judges
needed to avoid letting their personal opinions affect their decisions.
Prior to his tenure
on the Court, he had served with distinction in the Civil War. Holmes'
life-long wish was to be interred with his fellow soldiers at Arlington
National Cemetery. When he was laid to rest in 1935, eight infantrymen
fired three volleys, one for each of the battles in which Holmes was
wounded. Holmes' gravesite at Arlington rests under a tree, not far
from another Massachusetts native, John F. Kennedy.
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From the writers of iBoston.org |
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