Sir Henry Holland was President of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, served as physician to the Princess of Wales (afterwards Queen Caroline) and became Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria, as well as doctor to six Prime Ministers. He was born 27 October 1788 in Knutsford (as he wryly notes in his autobiography - "a year before the French Revolution").  His maternal grandmother was Catherine Wedgwood, sister of the potter Josiah Wedgwood.  Henry was also a cousin of Mrs Gaskell the novelist.   His father Peter Holland was also a medical practitioner.

Henry had a passion for travel, and devoted two months every year to travelling overseas. This appears not to have affected his professional practice in the least. He believed that travel rejuvenated the soul and gave him fresh impetus to return to his work in London. In fact he attributed his good health and longevity to this annual sortie, and even completed an extended tour of Russia in the last year of his life, at the age of 85.

 In 1810, while still a student, he took a trip to Iceland, recording his experiences in a journal. Although not published at the time the Hakluyt Society decided its content worthy of printing some 177 years later (see "The Iceland Journal of Henry Holland, 1810", published 1987).

Shortly after completing his medical degree at Edinburgh in 1811 he undertook an extensive tour of South-Eastern Europe. He published an account of his observations in "Travels In The Ionian Isles, Albania, Thessaly, Macedonia, &c. during the Years 1812-13".  On this trip he spent two months in Albania, and was in frequent contact with Ali Pasha, to whom he acted as physician. Apart from showing Holland to be an observant and perceptive young man, the book demonstrates his considerable drawing skill, for it includes a dozen engravings taken from his sketches. In addition to his travel writings he published numerous medical books and articles for professional journals throughout his life.

He was apparently a well known person in London society and seems to have known professionally or privately a great many of the leading writers and politicians of his time.  In the 1820s his residence was Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, where he lived up until his death in 1873.

We are fortunate to have a comprehensive account of Henry Holland's life, for he didn't undertake to write his memoirs until his 82nd year.  In his "Recollections of Past Life" he shows a remarkable degree of discretion, despite the enormous potential that must have presented itself for recounting personal incidents involving famous personalities from society!