Holden was born in
Bolton, Lancashire, the second youngest of five children of Thomas Holden, a
handloom weaver, and his wife Joyce. As a youth he worked in a foundry at
Preston, until disabled by an accident. On his recovery he worked as a landscape gardener. From early in life he possessed a love of astronomy; he collected a library, and gave talks on the subject. In 1814–15 he constructed a large
orrery and a
magic lantern, made to illustrate his astronomical lectures. These were first given in the Theatre Royal, Preston, in 1815, and then in many towns in the north of England; their success led to his touring throughout
Northern England to give lectures. He lectured at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, in 1817. In 1826 he devoted the proceeds of one of his lectures to the erection of a monument in
St. Michael's Church, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, to the memory of the astronomer
Jeremiah Horrocks. From 1837 he was an enthusiastic member of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1834 the
Freedom of the Borough of Preston was conferred on him. Holden died at his home in Jordan Street, Preston on 3 June 1864, aged 86. ==References==