1868 Holland Map of the Sinai Peninsula

Frederick Whitmore Holland (1838 - August 27, 1881) was an English minister and traveler, particularly to the Sinai Peninsula. Born in England, Holland attended Eton and Trinity College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1860 and a Master of Arts in 1864. Holland was ordained in 1862 and served as Curate of St. Andrew in Manchester from 1862 - 1865, Assistant Minister of Quebec Chapel from 1865 until 1872, and as Vicar of Evesham beginning in 1872. Holland first visited the Sinai Peninsula in 1861 and went back again in 1865. He read an account of his second journey to the Sinai at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in 1866. Holland read a subsequent paper to the RGS in 1868 and published a 'valuable map of the Peninsula' in the 1869 volume of the Geographical Journal. Holland played a major role in raising the Sinai Survey Fund, which he accompanied as a volunteer, about which he present another paper to the RGS in 1869. He traveled to the Sinai Peninsula six times over the course of his life. Holland was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1867. Holland died suddenly, likely of a heart attack, near Thun, Switzerland. More by this mapmaker...

John Murray I (1737 - 1793) founded the British publishing firm John Murray (1768 - present) in London. Born in Edinburgh, Murray served as an officer in the Royal Marines and built a list of authors that included Isaac D’Israeli and published the English Review. Murray the elder also was one of the founding sponsors of the London evening newspaper The Star in 1788. John Murray II (November 27 1778 - June 27, 1843) continued the family publishing business and developed it into one of the most important and influential publishing houses in Britain. The list of authors published by the firm grew to include Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott, Washington Irving, George Crabbe, and Lord Byron under his tenure. Murray II also moved the business to 50 Albermarle Street in Mayfair, which became famous for Murray’s tradition of ‘four o’clock friends’, which was afternoon tea with his writers. John Murray III (1808 - 1892) continued to grow the business, and the firm published the first English translation of Goethe’s Theory of Colours, David Livingstone’s Missionary Travels and Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species during his tenure. Murray also published Herman Melville’s first two books. The firm began publishing Murray Handbooks in 1836, an ancestor of all modern travel guides. Sir John Murray IV (1851 - 1928) was publisher to Queen Victoria. Three successive Murray’s after Murray IV led the business until it was purchased by Hodder Headline in 2002, which was acquired by the French conglomerate Lagardère Group in 2004. Today, Murray is an imprint of Lagardère under the imprint Hachette UK. Learn More...

Royal Geographical Society (fl. 1830 - present) is a British Society established in 1830 to promote geographical science and exploration. Originally titled the "Geographical Society of London", the RGS received its royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1859 shortly after absorbing several similar but more regional societies including the African Association, the Raleigh Club and the Palestine Association. The RGS sponsored many of the most important and exciting voyages of exploration ever undertaken, including the exploration of Charles Darwin, David Livingstone, Robert Falcon Scott, Richard F. Burton, John Speke, George Hayward, H. M Stanley, Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmond Hillary. Today, the RGS remains a leading global sponsor of geographical and scientific studies. The Society is based in Lowther Lodge, South Kensington, London. Learn More...