Son of Congregational minister Abiel Holmes, Oliver taught ana­to­my and phys­i­ol­o­gy at Har­vard Med­i­cal School, where he even­tu­al­ly be­came dean. How­ev­er, he is per­haps best rem­em­bered as an au­thor, and as fa­ther of Amer­i­can Su­preme Court Jus­tice Ol­i­ver Wen­dell Holmes, Jr. In ad­di­tion, with James Rus­sell Low­ell, he helped found The At­lan­tic Month­ly mag­a­zine in 1857. Holmes’ works in­clude:

• “Old Ironsides,” 1830
• “The Chambered Nautilus,” 1858
• The Autocrat of the Break­fast Ta­ble
• The Pro­fess­or at the Break­fast Ta­ble, 1859
• Songs in Ma­ny Keys, 1861

Sources

Hymns

1. Father of Mercies, Heavenly Friend
2. Land Where the Banners Wave Last in the Sun
3. Lord of All Be­ing
4. Lord, Thou Hast Led Us as of Old
5. O Father, While Our Hearts Unlearn
6. O Lord of Hosts, Al­mighty King
7. O Love Divine, That Stooped to Share
8. Our Father, While Our Hearts Unlearn
9. Thou Gracious Power