Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet

Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet FRS
Born	27 October 1788
Died	27 October 1873
Occupation	physician and travel writer
Genre	travel writing

Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet, FRS (27 October 1788 – 27 October 1873), was a British physician and travel writer. ^[1]

Early life[]

Born in Knutsford, Cheshire, Holland was the son of the physician Peter Holland (1766–1853) and his wife Mary Willets. Peter's sister Elizabeth was the mother of the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, and Mary was the niece of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University (MA, 1811).

Career[]

He had an extensive practice and was Domestic Physician to Caroline, Princess of Wales (briefly in 1814) and Physician Extraordinary to William IV and to Queen Victoria. He was also Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria in 1852. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in January, 1815 and served on the council three times.^[2] He was created a Baronet in 1853.

Scientifically, Holland made an early contribution to the Germ theory of disease in his essay "On the hypothesis of insect life as a cause of disease?" in "Medical Notes and Reflections", 1839.

Travel[]

Holland gained fame through his travel writings, having travelled to Iceland and through the Balkans and the Iberian peninsula, while the British were at war with France. He was also a talented society physician, and between his good looks, his charm, and his experiences and conversation, he was much in demand.

Holland died on his 85th birthday, 27 October 1873, at his house in Brook Street, London.

Family[]

In 1822 he married, Margaret Emma Caldwell (1795–1830, known as Emma), with whom he had two sons and two daughters:

• Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford (1825–1914)
• Francis James Holland (1828–1907)
• Emily Mary Holland (1824–1908) married Charles Buxton; their son was Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton
• Elinor Anne Holland (1826–1829)

Emma died on 2 February 1830. He later became son-in-law to the wit Sydney Smith whose daughter, Saba, he married as his second wife, with whom he had two daughters:

• Caroline Holland (1834–1909), author of Notebooks of a Spinster Lady, publ. posth. 1919
• Gertrude Holland (1840–1898)

References[]

External links[]

• Works written by or about Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet at Wikisource
• Recollections of Past Life By Sir Henry Holland
• Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, Thessaly, Macedonia, &c. During the Years 1812-1813. By Sir Henry Holland
• Works by or about Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet at Internet Archive
• Portraits of Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet at the National Portrait Gallery, London