Joseph Warren, one of the first of the distinguished line of medical Warrens of Boston and Roxbury, was killed in the battle of Breeds Hill (Bunker Hill) at the age of 34. He was born on a farm stocked with apple trees (Warren Russet), cattle, and a yoke of oxen. He pursued the tradition of the intellectually elite of New England at Roxbury Latin School, where the classical languages and literature were emphasized, and entered Harvard College at the age of 14. Following graduation, Warren served a term as a teacher in Roxbury Latin School, while qualifying for a master's degree at Harvard. One of the requirements for the higher degree was a thesis.1 Warren defended his thesis from notes; no formal dissertation remains in the archives of Harvard College according to Warren's latest biographer John Cary in Joseph Warren, Physician, Politician, Patriot.2
If an American colonial wished