Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/597

 580

HOLMES.

long been connected with business in London^ born in London^ Sept. 9, 1827« was educated at Homerton, and entered business early, but preferring journalism, became con- nected with several leading daily and weekly newspapers, as well as magazines. He joined the staff of Household Words in 1857, was a constant contributor to that period- ical and to All the Tear Round, the Comhill Magazine, Good Words, and Once a Week, In 1859 he pub- lished a volume of contributions, chiefly upon city life, from House- hold Words, called "Under Bow Bells J " in 1860 another collection of papers, bearing on politics or political economy, called " Kubbing the Gilt Off J " and a collection of home travels (originally contri- buted to All the Fear Boitnd), under the title of "Odd Journeys ;*' in 1861 a volume of papers from several magazines, under the title of " Ways of Life ; " and a work called " Bagged London in 1861," upon the homes of the metropolitan poor. These were followed by " Underground London," describ- ing the sewers, gas and water system of the metropolis j a collec- tion of stories called "Bough Diamonds ; " the Official History of the International Exhibition, prepared for the Eoyal Commis- sioners ; and in 1864 by " To-day," a series of miscellaneous essays. He has written one or two original dramatic pieces, and was for ten years the dramatic critic of the Daily News, London Review, &c., and is a member of the Dramatic Authors' Society. Mr. Hollings- head has always been a devoted free-trader. When the agitation for the repeal of the paper duties was in existence, he helped it in every possible way ; and when a crusade was made against the Music-halls by theatrical managers, to stop the infringement of the so-called dramatic privileges, he did all he could to promote free trade in theatres and dramatic

representation. In conjunction with Mr. Dion Boucicault, he orga- nized a powerful agitation, which resulted in a Parliamentary com- mittee being appointed in 1866, before which Mr. HoUingshead was examined. The committee reported in favour of dramatic free-trade. The result of this agitation was to draw the attention of capitalists to the deficient first-class theatrical accommodation in London^ and eighteen new metroi>olitan theatres have since been built. One of these — the Gaiety Theatre, in the Strand — Mr. HoUingshead had the courage to take and open himself in December, 1868, and he still con- tinues its lessee and manager, and he has had three metrop<:ditan theatres under his direction at one time, with the most powerful com- bination of actors in London. He is also the Director of the principal theatre in Manchester. In 1879 he induced the whole ComMie Fran- (aise to visit London and play for six weeks at the Gaiety. A collec- tion of his writings was published under the title of " Miscellanies : Stories and Essays," 3 vols., 1874; and in 1877 he made a successful adaptation of MM. Meilhac and Hal^vy's " La Cigale," under the title of "The Grasshopper."

HOLMES, Oliver Wendell, M.D., born at Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, Aug. 29, 1809. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1829, began the study of law, which he abandoned for that of medicine. Having attended the hospitals of Paris and other European cities, he commenced practice in Boston in 1836 ; in 1838 was elected Pro- fessor of Anatomy and Physiology in Dartmouth College ; and in 1847 was appointed to a similar pro- fessor^p in the Massachusetts Medical School, from which he retired in 1882. As early as 1836 his contributions in verse appeared in various periodicals, and his reputation as a poet was established by the delivery of a metrical essay.