Thomas Rice Edward Holmes, FBA (24 May 1855 – 4 August 1933), who usually published his works under the names T. Rice Holmes or T.R.E. Holmes, was a scholar best known for his extensive and "fundamental" work on

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

and his Gallic War commentaries. Holmes was born at Moycashel (today Castletown-Geoghegan),

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was the fifth son of Robert Holmes, a landed proprietor and a descendant of John Arbuthnot, a friend of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

and

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

. Holmes was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Christ Church, Oxford. He was assistant master at

Lincoln Grammar School Lincoln Grammar School or Lincoln Free School was formed as the result of the amalgamation of the Lincoln City Free School and the Lincoln Chapter Grammar School. The amalgamation occurred in January 1584, but the two schools may have been effec ...

(1878–80),

Blackheath Proprietary School The Blackheath Proprietary School was an educational establishment founded in 1830. In the 19th century, it had a profound influence on the game of football, in both Association and Rugby codes. In 1863, the school became one of the founders of T ...

(1880–85), and St. Paul's School (beginning in 1886). In 1888, he married Isabel Isaacs, the daughter of Lionel Isaacs of

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population w ...

. They lived at 11 Douro Place, Kensington. In addition to his books, Holmes published a number of articles in the ''

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and ...

'', '' Classical Quarterly'', and other journals. He died at age 78 in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Books

* ''A History of the Indian Mutiny'' (1888)
Internet Archive
an
Google Books.
* ''Four Famous Soldiers'' (1889) * ''Caesar's Conquest of Gaul: An Historical Narrative'' (1903)
Internet Archive
(part I only) an
Internet Archive
(part I only); review of revised second edition of 1911 by H. Stuart Jones, ''English Historical Review'' 27 (1912) a

* ''Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar'' (1907)
Internet Archive
an
Internet Archive
review by H. Stuart Jones, ''English Historical Review'' 24 (1909) a

* as translator:
''Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War''
(1908) * ''The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928)
Google Books

Articles

Holmes wrote several articles, and Bill Thayer has documented "a flurry of argument and counter-argument" among Holmes and other scholars on the identity of the

Portus Itius Itius Portus or Portus Itius was the ancient Roman name for a sea port on the English Channel in what is now Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, though its precise location is unknown. The main candidates have been Wissant and Boulogne (more usually called ...

named by Caesar.Bill Thayer
notes
to the entry "Portus Itius" in the 1911 Britannica at

LacusCurtius LacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in July 2021 it had "3707 webpages, 765 photos, 772 drawings & engravings, 120 plans, 139 maps." T ...

. These appear at

in hypertext editions: *F.J. Haverfield, review of Holmes' ''Caesar's Conquest of Gaul'' (1899) and

Camille Jullian Camille Jullian (15 March 1859 – 12 December 1933) was a French historian, philologist, archaeologist and historian of literature. A Professor of ancient history and classics at the University of Bordeaux from 1891, Jullian was awarded a chai ...

's '' Vercingétorix'' (1901), ''English Historical Review'' 18 (1903) 332–33

*T. Rice Holmes, "Last Words on Portus Itius," ''Classical Review'' 23 (May 1909) 77–8

* H. Stuart Jones takes Holmes to task while reviewing ''Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar'' in ''English Historical Review'' 24 (1909) 115–116 and 60

* T. Rice Holmes, "An Explanation," ''Classical Review'' 26 (March 1912) 7

* F.J. Haverfield, "Portius Itius," ''Classical Review'' 27 (December 1913) 258–26

*T. Rice Holmes, "F.H. on Portius Itius," ''Classical Review'' 28 (March 1914) 45–4

* F.J. Haverfield, "Portus Itius," ''Classical Review'' 28 (May 1914) 82–8

*T. Rice Holmes, "Portus Itius," ''Classical Review'' 28 (September 1914) 193–19

* E.E. Genner, "Portus Itius," ''Classical Review'' 32 (May 1918) 7

Holmes' "The Battle-field of Old

Pharsalus ''Pharsalus''Melichar L (1906) ''Monographie der Issiden. (Homoptera). Abhandlungen der K. K. Zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien.'' Wien 3: 1-327 21 is the type genus of planthoppers in the subfamily Pharsalinae (family Ricaniidae); it ...

," ''Classical Quarterly'' 2 (1908) 271–292 is also republished at LacusCurtiu

Biographical sources

* ''Nature'' 132 (2 September 1933) 342, obituary
partial text
*''Who's Who 1900'' (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1900), vol. 52, p. 53
online.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, T. Rice 1855 births 1933 deaths British classical scholars Scholars of Roman history Julius Caesar People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People from Castletown Geoghegan