Public Figure Profiles

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932. He is one of the most widely cited U.S. Supreme Court justices and most influential American common law judges in history, noted for his long service, concise, and pithy opinions—particularly for opinions on civil liberties and American constitutional democracy—and deference to the decisions of elected legislatures. Holmes retired from the court at the age of 90, an unbeaten record for oldest justice on the Supreme Court. He previously served as a Brevet Colonel in the American Civil War, in which he was wounded three times, as an associate justice and chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and as Weld Professor of Law at his alma mater, Harvard Law School. His positions, distinctive personality, and writing style made him a popular figure, especially with American progressives.During his tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court, to which he was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, he supported the constitutionality of state economic regulation and came to advocate broad freedom of speech under the First Amendment, after, in Schenck v. United States (1919), having upheld for a unanimous court criminal sanctions against draft protestors with the memorable maxim that "free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic" and formulating the groundbreaking "clear and present danger" test. But later that same year, in his famous dissent in Abrams v. United States (1919), he wrote that "the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market.... That, at any rate, is the theory of our Constitution. It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment." He added that "we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death...."He was one of only a handful of justices known as a scholar; The Journal of Legal Studies has identified Holmes as the third-most cited American legal scholar of the 20th century. Holmes was a legal realist, as summed up in his maxim, "The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience", and a moral skeptic opposed to the doctrine of natural law. His jurisprudence and academic writing influenced much subsequent American legal thinking, including the judicial consensus upholding New Deal regulatory law, and the influential American schools of pragmatism, critical legal studies, and law and economics.

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Some of their strengths

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. has many admirable traits.

Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Kind, Intelligent, Smart, Creative, Intuitive, Imaginative, and Diplomatic.

Soulful and Understanding

According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is someone who is a soulful, understanding, and conscious person, who combines smarts with a deep talent for creativity and imagination. A person who is known for being diligent and strong.

Warm and Caring

Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. well know them as someone who can be warm, caring, and compassionate, like a lamp or torch.

Courteous and Easygoing

According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. as someone who is polite, modest, and diplomatic.

A person who tends to be socially popular, who loves intellectual or creative activities, who has a talent for communicating with and understanding the needs of others, and who seems to have a knack for getting recognized for their efforts.

Perceptive and Visionary

Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is someone who has a natural awareness about what is going on in the surrounding environment and the world at large, and a refined vision of how to navigate it.

They are also someone who is creative, expressive, and insightful, and who has a pioneering spirit with self-determination and natural artistic expression.

Creative and Imaginative

According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. tends to be someone who is sensitive, imaginative, creative, and somewhat of a dreamer. Who is intuitive and compassionate, and who has a friendly, easygoing, calming and relaxing effect on people and for whom friends and family mean the world.

Some of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s challenges

While Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.

For example, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. can be Indecisive, Unrealistic, Materialistic, Hesitant, Narcissistic, Unemotional, and Serious.

Indecisive and Unrealistic

One of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as indecisive and unrealistic.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. must also exercise caution as they can be excessive and unrealistic.

Indecisive and Materialistic

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. is someone who can be indecisive, indulgent, and materialistic, who can have difficulty focusing on a single career or profession, have difficulty following orders or respecting authority, and who can suffer from "analysis paralysis".

Lethargic and Unrealistic

Finally, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. also can be too soft, lazy and lethargic, and who can have difficulty finding others who share a similarly dreamy outlook on life.

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