Emil Holub (7 October 1847 – 21 February 1902) was a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
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* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
physician, explorer, cartographer, and ethnographer in Africa.
Early life
Holub was born in
Holice in eastern
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
(then within the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
, now the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
), to the family of a municipal doctor. After studying at a German-language grammar school in
Žatec
Žatec (; german: Saaz) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monumen ...
(Saaz), he was admitted at
Prague University
)
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, image_size = 200px
, established =
, type = Public, Ancient
, budget = 8.9 billion CZK
, rector = Milena Králíčková
, faculty = 4,057
, administrative_staff = 4,026
, students = 51,438
, underg ...
where he obtained a degree as a doctor of
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
(1872).
Expeditions in Africa
Inspired to visit Africa by the diaries of
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
, Holub travelled to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, shortly after graduation and eventually settled in
Dutoitspan near
Kimberley to practise medicine. After eight months, Holub set out in a convoy of local hunters on a two-month experimental expedition, or "scientific safari", where he began to assemble a large natural history collection.
![Seven Years in South Africa, page 276, boat wrecked](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Seven_Years_in_South_Africa%2C_page_276%2C_boat_wrecked.jpg)
In 1873, Holub set out on his second scientific safari, devoting his attention to the collection of ethnographic material. On his third expedition in 1875, he ventured all the way to the
Zambezi
The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than ha ...
river and made the first detailed map of the region surrounding
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...
. Holub also wrote and published the first book account of the Victoria Falls published in English in
Grahamstown
Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...
in 1879.
After returning to Prague for several years, Holub made plans for a bold African expedition. In 1883, Holub, along with his new wife Rosa (1865–1958) and six European guides, set out to do what no one had done before: explore the entire length of Africa from Cape Town all the way to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. However, the expedition was troubled by illness and the uncooperative
Ila tribesmen and Holub's team was forced to turn back in 1886.
Holub mounted two exhibitions, highly attended but ending up in financial loss, in 1891 in Vienna and in 1892 in Prague. Frustrated that he was unable to find a permanent home for his large collection of artefacts, he gradually sold or gave away parts of it to museums, scientific institutions and schools.
Later Holub published a series of documents, contributing to papers and magazines, and delivering lectures. His early death came in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
on 21 February 1902, from lingering complications of
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
and other diseases he had acquired while in Africa.
Commemorations of Holub's legacy
![Holice, Památník Dr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Holice%2C_Pam%C3%A1tn%C3%ADk_Dr._Emila_Holuba%2C_busta.jpg)
* In 1884,
Daniel Oliver published and described in
Hooker's book
Icones Plantarum
''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens o ...
(Hooker's Icon. Pl.) Vol.15 in table 1475, the plant ''
Holubia saccata'', a
monotypic genus
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s belonging to the family
Pedaliaceae
Pedaliaceae, the pedalium family or sesame family, is a flowering plant family classified in the order Lamiales.
The family includes sesame (''Sesamum indicum''), the source of sesame seeds.
It comprises 13 genera and approximately 70 spec ...
. It was named in Holub's honour.
* In 1949, a monument to Holub by Jindřich Soukup was unveiled in his hometown of Holice.
* In 1952, Czech movie ''Velké dobrodružství'' (''Great Adventure'') was filmed about Holub's expeditions.
* In 1970, the town of Holice opened a museum dedicated to Emil Holub near the main post office with an associated monument nearby. Since 1999 the
gymnasium in the town bears explorer's name.
* On 20 February 2002 the
Czech National Bank
The Czech National Bank, ( cs, Česká národní banka, ČNB) is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is and a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on ...
issued a
CZK
The koruna, or crown, ( sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro curre ...
200 silver coin commemorating the 100th anniversary of Dr. Emil Holub's death
* Between 2002 and 2006, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
organized several events to commemorate Emil Holub.
*In a 2005 poll, he was voted #90 of the ''
100 greatest Czechs''.
* In September 2005, exactly 130 years since Holub's first visit to the Victoria Falls, a bust of Holub by the Zimbabwean sculptor Last Mahwahwa was unveiled by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic,
Jaroslav Olša, Jr., and the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria, Michael Brunner, in front of the
National Museum of Zambia in
Livingstone, the city adjacent to the Victoria Falls.
Works
* (Reprinted (1975), Johannesburg: Africana Book Society.)
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
In German
Gabriele Riz: Leben und Werk des Afrikaforschers Emil Holub. 1847–1902. Diplomarbeit. Universität Wien, Wien 1985.
In English
*To the Upper Zambezi. Some 19th Century Notes of Czech Traveller Emil Holub (eds. Rob S. Burrett and Jaroslav Olša, Jr. Prague: Nová vlna 2020)
*Dark Deeds. Some Hunting Memoirs of the Nineteenth Century Czech Traveller Emil Holub (Ed. Rob S. Burrett. Gweru: Mambo Press 2006)
*The Culture and Society in South Africa of 1870s and 1880s – Views and Consideration of Dr. Emil Holub (Josef Kandert. Prague: Naprstek Museum 1998)
*Emil Holub's Travels north of the Zambezi (ed.
Ladislav Holý
Ladislav Holý (1933–1997) was a Czech anthropologist and Africanist of the British school of social anthropology. He combined interpretative approach with methodological individualism, most notably in the '' Actions, Norms and Representation ...
. Manchester: Manchester University Press 1975)
*The Victoria Falls. A few Pages from the Diary of Emil Holub, M.D., written during His third Trip into the Interior of Southern Africa (Grahamstown: no publisher, reprinted with a foreword by Jaroslav Olša, jr. Bulawayo: Books of Zimbabwe 2004)
In Czech
*
*
*
* (Also in
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
edition as (1963) ''La nord de Zambezi''. București: Editura Tineretului.)
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
Museum of Dr. Emil Holub*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holub, Emil
1847 births
1902 deaths
People from Holice
People from the Kingdom of Bohemia
19th-century Czech people
Czech explorers
Explorers of Africa
Charles University alumni
South African explorers