Robert Hudson (FRS) facts for kids
Robert Hudson (born 1801, died 1883) was an English naturalist. A naturalist is someone who studies nature, like plants and animals. He was a wealthy man. In 1834, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a special group for important scientists.
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Robert Hudson's Early Life and Family Connections
Robert Hudson was born in Camberwell, England. His father, also named Robert Hudson, was a captain in the British East India Company. This company was very powerful and traded goods from India and other parts of Asia. His mother was Demetria Cotton.
Robert Hudson senior was a naval captain who later owned ships. When he died in 1817, his only son, Robert junior, inherited a large fortune.
In 1823, Robert Hudson went to New College, Oxford University. While there, he met John Wordsworth, who was the oldest son of the famous poet William Wordsworth. Robert Hudson did not finish his degree at Oxford.
Hudson's Interests and Discoveries
After leaving Oxford, Robert Hudson traveled around Britain. He kept journals about his trips. In 1831, he visited the Lake District and met the poet William Wordsworth. He also studied plants with another naturalist named George Luxford. Hudson's travel notes from 1818 to 1834 are now kept at the Bodleian Library.
His cousin, John Cotton, sent him plant and animal samples from Australia. Robert Hudson later gave some of his own rock samples and fossils to King's College, London in 1873.
Robert Hudson was very involved in scientific groups. He became a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1832, which focuses on Earth's rocks and history. In 1848, he joined the Linnean Society, a group for people who study plants and animals. He also served on the councils for the Palaeontographical Society (which studies fossils) and the Zoological Society of London (which studies animals). Later, he joined the Royal Society of Arts in 1870 and the Quekett Microscopical Club in 1872, which focuses on using microscopes.
Where Robert Hudson Lived
Robert Hudson lived on Clapham Common for more than 50 years. He was also a justice of the peace in Surrey, which meant he helped keep law and order in the area.
He also owned a share of the land and rights as the lord of the manor of Tooting Bec. He bought this share and later sold it to the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1873.
Robert Hudson's Family
In 1835, Robert Hudson married Julia Twining. They had children, including:
- Robert Hudson (born 1835 or 1836), their oldest son. He married Marion Fisher in 1861.
- William Hudson (1837–1931), who also became a cleric and was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA).
Images for kids
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Inglis merchant ship for the East India Company, painted in 1820 off Dover
