Henry Holland - Definition and Overview

Sir Henry Holland, father of the 1st Viscount Knutsford, was a cousin of the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell and son-in-law to the wit Sydney Smith whose daughter Saba, he married as his second wife. Holland, son of the physician Peter Holland, gained fame through his travel writings (having travelled to Iceland and through the Balkans and the Iberian peninsula, while the British were at war with France). He was also a talented society physician, and between his good looks, his charm, and his experiences and conversation, he was much in demand.

Among Sir Henry Holland's descendants are the 1st and last Earl Buxton, and the latter's grandson the present Duke of Grafton.