Emil Holub was Czech doctor, traveller in Africa and writer. Born October 7, 1847 in Holice in eastern Bohemia, died the February 21, 1902, Vienna, Austria.

At Prague University he obtained degree as a doctor of medicine in 1872.

Four months after his graduation ceremony he set out on his first journey to Cape Town. First practised medicine in Kimberley diamond mines. After eight months, Holub set out in a convoy of local hunters on a two month long experimental expedition, a.k.a. a "scientific sahari". He collected and assembled natural history collections and sent them to Prague.

In 1873 Holub set out on his second scientific safari and he devoted attention to the collection of ethnographic material. He opened his third expedition in 1875. A destination of this expedition was Zambezi river and Victoria Falls.

In 1883 Holub, his wife and six guides set out to second journey to Africa. His target was nothing smaller than go through Africa from Cape Town to the north, to Egypt - what nobody achieved by then. The expedition was troubled by illnesses and aggressive tribesmen and was forced to return back in 1886.

Holub felt satisfaction in two great shows at home - in 1891 in Vienna and in 1892 in Prague. Due to envy and plots he didn't find single location for his collections. Annoyed traveller started gradually to sell or give them away to museums, scientific institutions an schools.

Later Holub published series of special documents, contributions to the papers and magazines and passed hundreds of lectures. Consequences of experienced tropical diseases caused his early death.

Legacy

• Since 1970 Holice hosts museum dedicated to Emil Holub.
• In 1952 movie Velké dobrodružství (Great Adventure) was filmed.
• Several books were written about Holub (all in Czech): Edvard Valenta "Druhé housle" (1945), František Běhounek "Na sever od Zambezi" (1946), Vojtěch Lev "Za velkým dobrodružstvím" (1947), Jiří Baum: "Holub a Mašukulumbové", Bohumil Bauše: "Život a cesty Dr. Emila Holuba", Ctibor Votrubec: "Jihoafrické cesty Emila Holuba", J.V.Želízko: "Život a utrpení afrického cestovatele dr. E. Holuba v posledních dopisech", J.M.Dlouhý: "Neznámý dr. Emil Holub".

External links

• Museum of Dr. Emil Holub (http://www.holice.cz/kdholice/htm/pamatnik_ang.htm)
• Short biography (in Czech) (http://www.czsk.net/svet/clanky/osobnosti/holub.html)
• IMDB record: movie about Emil Holub (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309032/)