Joseph Warren was born in Roxbury in 1741. He was the oldest son of Joseph and Mary Stevens Warren. He married Elizabeth Horton in 1764. After graduating from Harvard in 1759, he studied medicine with Dr. James Lloyd. He practiced in Boston, Massachusetts.

As a leader in the acts leading up to the American Revolution, he gave speeches commemorating the Boston Massacre in 1772 and 1775. He was elected as president to the Provincial Congress in 1774, and was chairman of the Provincial Congress of Safety. He was authorized second major general in 1775, but served only as a volunteer.

Early in 1775, Dr. Warren still believed that Great Britain and the colonies could resolve their differences without fighting a war. Dr. Joseph Warren died in the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.