HOLMES 771 Cambridge, Mass., June 4, 1837. He gradu- jd at Yale college in 1783, and became sub- uently a tutor in the college, pursuing at same time his theological studies. In 1785 was settled over a parish at Midway, Ga., There he remained till compelled by ill health resign his charge in 1791. In 1792 he be- ime pastor of the first parish in Cambridge, ttd continued to fill the office till Sept. 26, 1832. Dr. Stiles, his father-in-law, at his de- se had bequeathed to him his large collec- of manuscripts, containing researches m various subjects, and from these Dr. folmes wrote a "Life of President Stiles," rhich was published in 1798. The study of lese papers turned his attention to the early history of America, and he devoted himself to the composition of the "Annals of America" (2 vols. 8vo, Cambridge, 1805), which estab- lished for its author a high reputation for ac- curacy, and has maintained its place as a lead- ing authority in American history. It was republished in England in 1813, and in 1829 a new and enlarged edition was published in this country, bringing the annals down to 1820. Dr. Holmes contributed frequently to the "Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society," in vol. xxvii. of which will be found a complete list of his publications. In 1817 he delivered a course of lectures upon ecclesiasti- cal history, particularly that of New England, which have not been published. HOLMES, George Frederick, an American edu- cator, born in Demerara, Guiana, in 1820. He was brought up and educated in England. When 11 years of age he was presented by the bishop of Bristol with a scholarship in the London university, admitting him to the senior class. This was not accepted, but at a later period he went to the university of Durham, and gained an open scholarship. He came to the United States at the age of 18, and was engaged in a classical academy near the Wil- derness, Virginia, in 1838-'9. Next he taught in Georgia. In 1840 he was placed in charge of the Walterborough academy, South Carolina. He had while teaching studied jurisprudence, and in 1842 was authorized by a special act of the South Carolina legislature to practise law, although not naturalized. Soon afterward he was made assistant editor of the "Southern Quarterly Review." In 1845 he was recalled to Virginia as professor in Richmond college ; and in 1847 he became professor of history, political economy, and international law in William and Mary college. In 1846 he was elected president of the university of Missis- sippi, with the departments of mental and moral philosophy, political economy, and his- tory. He held this post but a short time, declining health obliging him to seek rest in the Virginia mountains. In 1857 he was elected professor of history and literature in the university of Virginia. He has prepared a series of text books designed especially for schools in the southern states. HOLMES, John, a Canadian author, born at Windsor, Vt., in 1799, died at Lorette, near Quebec, in 1852. He was preparing to enter the ministry of the Wesleyan church, when he embraced the Roman Catholic faith ; he studied philosophy and theology in the seminary of Montreal, became professor in the college of Nicolet, where he was ordained priest, and spent some time as a missionary in the Eastern Townships. In 1828 he entered* the seminary of Quebec as professor, was elected one of its directors, and soon became principal of the seminary. In 1836 he was commissioned by the provincial government to inquire into the system of normal schools in Europe and Amer- ica, and returned to Canada in 1837 with pro- fessors, apparatus, &c., for the Canadian nor- mal school, which was opened forthwith in Montreal. From 1838, owing to a domestic affliction, he lived in seclusion, only appearing to deliver Lenten courses of lectures, published in 1850 as Conferences de Notre Dame de Que- bec. His Manuel dbrege de geographic mo- derne has reached its sixth edition. HOLMES, Oliver Wendell, an American author, son of the Rev. Abiel Holmes, born in Cam- bridge, Mass., Aug. 29, 1809. He graduated at Harvard college in 1829, and entered upon the study of the law, which he soon abandoned for medicine, and in 1832 went to Europe to pursue his studies, passing several years in at- tendance on the hospitals of Paris and other large cities. He received the degree of M. D. in 1836, in 1838 was chosen professor of anat- omy and physiology in Dartmouth college, and in 1847 was elected to fill the same chair in the medical college of Harvard university. Early in his college life he attracted attention as a poet. He contributed to the " Collegian," a periodical conducted by the undergraduates of the college, and also to " Illustrations of the Athenaaum Gallery of Paintings" in 1831, and to the " Harbinger, a May Gift," in 1833. In 1836 he read before the Phi Beta Kappa so- ciety "Poetry, a Metrical Essay," which was published in the first collected edition of his " Poems " (Boston, 1836). " Terpsichore " was read by him at a dinner of the same society in 1843, and "Urania" was published in 1846. In 1850 he delivered before the Yale chapter of the same society a poem entitled " Astraea," which was published in the same year. His poems have passed through many editions since they first appeared in a collected form, and have been republished at different times in England. He has been a frequent contribu- tor to periodical literature. In the "Atlantic Monthly " (Boston, 1857) he began a series of articles under the title of " The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," which were continued for a year, and constituted one of the mosl brilliant events in contemporary American lit- erature. They were followed by " The Pro- fessor at the Breakfast Table," and in 1872 by "The Poet at the Breakfast Table." As a writer of songs and lyrics, both humorous and
