John P. Holland

1841 - 1914

Inventor of the Modern Submarine

by Richard Knowles Morris
(Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1966; 2nd ed., Univ. S.C. Press, 1998)
page 113

"In June, 1900, within a month of the congressional hearings, and as if to note the passing of the high-water mark of his career, John Holland was presented with a five-year contract made retroactive to 1 April 1899. By the terms of this contract, he was demoted from general manager of the Holland Torpedo Boat Company to chief engineer."

"Flushed with success, Isaac Rice and E. B. Frost, both practical men of affairs, began to turn against the one man whose dreams and perseverance had now brought them a handsome return on their investments. Let Holland be content with the image he has acquired in the public eye, they said, in effect; we now have need of technically trained constructors and engineers, not a untutored school teacher. And so Holland, too, was to be "buried then with glory." Well, perhaps not quite yet. He would make one more start. Creecy, Nixon, Morris and Captain Kimball would stand behind him. He had plans, but they would have to wait for the right moment."

1