The use of "whom" in sentences of the first type ("Beethoven, whom you say was a great composer...")referred to as "subject 'whom' can therefore be regarded as a hypercorrection, resulting from awareness of a perceived need to correct "who" to "whom" in sentences of the second type. Examples of this apparently ungrammatical usage can be found throughout the history of English. The "OED" traces it back to the 15thcentury, while Jespersen cites even earlier examples from Chaucer. More examples are given below: