Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1904) was a prominent physician, author, poet, and longtime professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a Congregationalist minister, Holmes was an avid reader as a child and was noted for his talent for poetry. He began studying at Harvard College in 1825. Though initially drawn to the study of law, he eventually gravitated toward medicine, receiving a medical degree in 1836. During this time, Holmes continued to write poetry, publishing his first collection the same year he received his medical degree. After a brief stint running his own medical practice, Holmes began teaching anatomy at Harvard Medical School, and remained there until 1882.