Nathaniel Holmes (January 2, 1814"Nathaniel Holmes"
in ''

Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ''Dædalus'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1846 as the ''Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'', obtaining its current title in 1958. The journal is published by MIT Press on behalf of t ...

'', vol. 36, no. 29, 1901, pp. 552–53; retrieved April 10, 2024 or July 2, 1814JUDGE NATHANIEL HOLMES
in ''Saint Louis: the future great city of the world.''; by L. U. Reavis; p. 532; published 1875 by Gray, Baker & Co; via the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

or July 2, 1815"The Judges"
in ''The Missouri Supreme Court Historical Journal''; vol. 1, no. 1, Spring 1986; p. 6; published by the Missouri Supreme Court Historical Society in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the ...

— February 26 or March 26,"Judge Nathaniel Holmes"
by Matt Orf; at the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constituti ...

; published 2017 1901 in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

) was an American jurist who served on the

from 1865 to 1868.

Early life

Holmes' parents were both the children of immigrants, with his father's father being from

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

and his mother's father being from

Fifeshire Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council area and lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the south, Perth and Kinross to the west and Clackmannanshire t ...

. He attended school in

Chester, Vermont Chester is a New England town, town in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The town was originally chartered by New Hampshire Governor Be ...

and

New Ipswich, New Hampshire New Ipswich is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts bo ...

, then was a student at

Philips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an estimated 1,100 boardi ...

before enrolling in

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1833. After graduating Harvard in 1837, he became a tutor in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and then a year later enrolled in

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Career

Holmes began practicing law in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

in 1839. In 1846, John C. Edwards appointed him circuit attorney for St. Louis County, a position he held until 1847. From 1853 to 1855, he represented the St. Louis

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

, and from 1862 to 1865, he represented the North Missouri Railroad Company. In 1865, the Ousting Ordinance removed all judges in Missouri from office,The Legal History of the State of Missouri
by Joseph J. Simeone; in '' Saint Louis University Law Journal''; volume 43, number 4, article 17; p. 1412 (p. 19 of the .pdf); at

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

and

Thomas Clement Fletcher Thomas Clement Fletcher (January 21, 1827March 25, 1899) was the 18th Governor of Missouri during the latter stages of the American Civil War and the early part of Reconstruction. He was the first Missouri governor to be born in the state. The ...

appointed Holmes to fill one of the newly-vacated seats on the

state Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

. In 1867, the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

appointed him a Professor of Law; however, he did not teach any courses. In 1868, he resigned from the court, and returned to Harvard Law School, where he served as Royall Professor of Law. In 1872, he resigned from Harvard and returned to St. Louis, where he practiced law until 1883, at which point he retired and returned to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he died in 1901.

Other activities

Holmes was an early proponent of the idea that

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

wrote the works attributed to

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and in 1866 published a 600-page book, ''The Authorship of Shakespeare'', in support of this.

References

{{reflist Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri 1901 deaths Harvard Law School faculty Baconian theory of Shakespeare authorship People from Peterborough, New Hampshire Harvard Law School alumni Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences