Emil Holub (7 October 1847 – 21 February 1902) was a
Czech physician, explorer, cartographer, and ethnographer in Africa.
Early life
Holub was born in
Holice in eastern
Bohemia (then within the
Austrian Empire, now the
Czech Republic), to the family of a municipal doctor. After studying at a German-language grammar school in
Žatec (Saaz), he was admitted at
Prague University where he obtained a degree as a doctor of
medicine (1872).
Expeditions in Africa
Inspired to visit Africa by the diaries of
David Livingstone, Holub travelled to
Cape Town,
South Africa, 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.
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 river and made the first detailed map of the region surrounding
Victoria Falls. Holub also wrote and published the first book account of the Victoria Falls published in English in
Grahamstown 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. 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 on 21 February 1902, from lingering complications of
malaria and other diseases he had acquired while in Africa.
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.[2]
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.[3]
On 20 February 2002 the
Czech National Bank issued a
CZK 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 organized several events to commemorate Emil Holub.[4]
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[5] 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.[6]
Novák, J. (November 1987). "140 years since the birth of Emil Holub". Časopis českých lékařů. 126 (46): 1447–8.
PMID3319177.
Kops, J. (November 1975). "From the history of medicine. Conqueror of the black continent (Emil Holub)". Zdravotnická pracovnice. 25 (11): 678–9.
PMID769399.
Slavĕtínský, M. (June 1972). "Anniversary of a physician-traveler Emil Holub M.D. (Oct. 7, 1847-Feb. 21, 1902)". Vnitřní lékařství. 18 (6): 601.
PMID4557960.
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
ISBN0869228080 (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. 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
Bauše, Bohumil (1907). Život a cesty dr. Emila Holuba [The Life and Travels of Dr. Emil Holub] (in Czech). Prague: J. Otto.
Dlouhý, Jindřich Maria (1940). Dr. Emil Holub. Studie z dějin českých přírodních věd [A Study of the History of Czech Natural Sciences] (in Czech). Holice: městská rada.
Valenta, Edvard (1943). Druhé housle [Second Fiddle] (in Czech). Prague: ELK.
Běhounek, František (1946). Na sever od Zambezi [North from the Zambezi] (in Czech). Prague: Toužimský a Moravec. (Also in
Romanian edition as (1963) La nord de Zambezi. București: Editura Tineretului.)
Lev, Vojtěch (1947). Za velkým dobrodružstvím. Vypravování o českém cestovateli [After the Great Adventure. Narration about the Czech Explorer] (in Czech). Prague: Komenium.
Baum, Jiří (1955). Holub a Mašukulumbové. Kapitoly o největším českém cestovateli [Holub and
Mashukulumbs. Chapters About the Greatest Czech Explorer] (in Czech). Prague: ČSAV.
Votrubec, Ctibor (1954). Jihoafrické cesty Emila Holuba [The South African Journeys of Emil Holub] (in Czech). Prague: Mladá fronta.
Šámal, Martin (2013). Emil Holub: Cestovatel – etnograf – spisovatel [Emil Holub: Traveller – Ethnographer – Author] (in Czech). Prague: Nakladatelství Vyšehrad.
ISBN978-80-7429-243-9.