James Holman

James Holman (* October 15, 1786 in Exeter, † July 29, 1857 in London) was a British traveler, adventurer and author who toured as a "Blind Traveller" Europe and the world.

Life and disease

Born the son of a pharmacist joined Holman in 1798 in the British Navy, where he rose to lieutenant. In 1810 he fell ill on board a ship off the coast of America at a unspecified illness, which led not only to permanent joint pain and loss of motion, but left him completely blind at the age of 25 years. After another suspicions it was the disease is a pure eye disease and its disease of the musculoskeletal system was due to rheumatism. Rheumatic diseases were due to permanent residence on the deck of wet, cold and windy ships quite frequently in young sailors at this time.

Travels

After his return to England Holman, equipped with a disability pension, studied by the Navy, first medicine and literature at the University of Edinburgh. From 1819 to 1821 he finally took the grand tour and traveled through France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of Germany. Holman went on his journeys copious notes with the aid of a Noctographen which to write it blind people allowed. So he could after his return his travel memories The Narrative of a Journey through France, etc. published (1822 ).

In the same year, Holman began a trip around the world from west to east, these, however, had already quit in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, he was accused by the Russian authorities of espionage and deported to Poland. After his return journey which took him through Austria, Saxony, Prussia and Hanover back to London, he published his travel memoirs Travels through Russia, Siberia, etc. ( 1825).

In the following years, from 1827 to 1832 succeeded Holman then to take the planned trip around the world. In the years 1834-1835, the four volumes of A Voyage Round the World including Travels in Africa, Asia, Australasia, America appeared, etc.

Holman died in London in 1857 when he was just about to create a report of his recent trip to Spain, Portugal, Moldova, Montenegro, Syria and Turkey.

Effect

The extensive trips that Holman could perform despite his disability, as well as detailed travel reports, the great popularity enjoyed, secured his fame and influence. Holman was also a member of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society. Charles Darwin quotes his world traveler memories in The Voyage of the Beagle as a source for the flora of the Indian Ocean. Holman's fight against slavery in Equatorial Guinea was recognized by the British colonial government, who called the river of the African country Holman River.

Works

• A Voyage Round the World, Volume I by James Holman original text in the Project Gutenberg
• A Narrative of a Journey, under taken in the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, through France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, parts of Germany bordering on the Rhine, Holland, and the Netherlands, etc. London, 1822.
• Travels through Russia, Siberia, Poland, Austria, Saxony, Prussia, Hanover, etc. under taken falling on the years 1822, 1823 and 1824, while suffering from total blindness, and Comprising an account of the author being Conducted a state prisoner from the eastern parts of Siberia. London, 4th edition, 1834
• A Voyage Round the World, Including Travels in Africa, Asia, Australasia, America, etc., etc. from MDCCCXXVII to MDCCCXXXII. 4 volumes. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1834