1840-1914. Irish engineer who developed some
of the first submarines. He began work in
Ireland in the late 1860s and emigrated to
the USA 1873. His first successful boat was
launched 1881 and, after several failures, he
built the Holland 1893, which was bought by
the US Navy two years later. The first
submarine, the Fenian Ram 1881, was built
with financial support from the Irish Fenian
society, who hoped to use it against England.
Holland continued after 1895 to build
submarines for various navies but died in
poverty after his company became embroiled in
litigation with backers.