[NFBV-Alexandria] Holman Prize

[BrianMiller]

Good afternoon,

 

For those of you at the chapter meeting on Thursday, you will remember my
brief discussion of the Holman Prize. I wanted to let you know the website
is up and running again, so you can go to Holmanprize.org and check it all
out! Here is a blurb about James Holman from the website:

 

"James Holman (1786-1857) was a Victorian-era adventurer and author. The
first blind person to circumnavigate the globe, he holds the further
distinction of being the most prolific traveler in history, sighted or
unsighted, prior to the invention of modern transportation. A British naval
lieutenant, Holman lost his eyesight at the age of 25 to rheumatic illness,
contracted while serving in the War of 1812. Since the illness also left him
in chronic pain, an act of royal charity awarded him a pension and permanent
residency in Windsor Castle.

Expected to live as a cloistered invalid, Holman surprised the court by
instead relocating to Edinburgh, where he became the first blind person
known to attend medical school. In 1819 he began a lifelong pursuit of
solitary travel, venturing unaccompanied through much of Europe and
publishing an acclaimed memoir of his experiences. He remained almost
constantly traveling, always solo, for the next four decades. When officials
attempted to confine him to Windsor Castle-on the grounds that he was
officially disabled-Queen Victoria's own physician prescribed freedom,
testifying that Holman's still-painful condition responded best to "a
continual change of scene and of climate," and warning that inactivity would
cause his death.

Holman traveled to all known continents. In Siberia he was accused of
spying, imprisoned and exiled as an enemy of the Tsar. In Africa he
participated in fighting the slave trade, helping to found what is now the
nation of Equatorial Guinea (where the Holman River was named in his honor).
Often greeted and celebrated simply as "the Blind Traveler," he published
five volumes of memoirs, and was famous enough upon his death in 1857 to
warrant a multi-page entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yet Holman
descended into a posthumous obscurity; the Britannica entry disappeared, as
did his manuscripts and papers. No comprehensive study of James Holman
emerged until 2006, when Jason Roberts published the award-winning biography
A Sense of the World, subtitled How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest
traveler." 

 

As I noted on Thursday, the book is available from NLS, and I highly
recommend it - and I'm really picky about books! *smile* 

 

The website is accepting applications, and will do so through February. 

 

Please let me know if you have any questions, so long as it isn't, "What is
the secret to winning a Holman Prize?" The secret is, there is no secret!
Oops, did I inadvertently give it away? Well, we shall see. 

 

Thanks, and have a lovely Saturday!

 

Brian R. Miller, Ph.D.

President

Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia

 

Sponsors names would go here. Help me fill this space with sponsors! 

 

 

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