Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894) was an American physician, poet, and essayist who taught at Harvard Medical School and was a leading figure among 19th-century "Fireside Poets." He wrote essays, poems, and novels—including "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" and the poem "Old Ironsides"—and is credited with the quoted aphorism about direction over position.