William Hudson (botanist)
Encyclopedia
William Hudson FRS was a British
botanist and apothecary
based in London
. His main work was Flora Anglica, published in 1762. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
in 1761.
In 1761 Hudson was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and in the following year appeared the first edition of his Flora Anglica, which, according to Pulteney and Sir J. E. Smith, "marks the establishment of Linnean principles of botany in England." Smith writes that the work was "composed under the auspices and advice of" Benjamin Stillingfleet
. Hudson, at the time of its publication, was practising as an apothecary in Panton Street, Haymarket, and from 1765 to 1771 acted as 'praefectus horti' to the Apothecaries' Company at Chelsea. A considerably enlarged edition of the Flora appeared in 1778; but in 1783 the author's house in Panton Street took fire, his collections of insects and many of his plants were destroyed, and the inmates narrowly escaped with their lives. Hudson retired to Jermyn Street.
In 1791 he joined the newly established Linnean Society. He died in Jermyn Street from paralysis on 23 May 1793, being, according to the Gentleman's Magazine, in his sixtieth year. He bequeathed the remains of his herbarium to the Apothecaries' Company. Linnaeus gave the name Hudsonia to a North American genus of Cistaceae.
Hudson was buried in St. James's Church in Westminster, London.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
botanist and apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His main work was Flora Anglica, published in 1762. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1761.
Life and work
Hudson was born at the White Lion Inn, Kendal, which was kept by his father, between 1730 and 1732. He was educated at Kendal grammar school, and apprenticed to a London apothecary. He obtained the prize for botany given by the Apothecaries' Company, a copy of Kay's Synopsis, which is now in the British Museum; but he also paid attention to mollusca and insects. In Pennant's British Zoology he is mentioned as the discoverer of Trochus terrestris. From 1757 to 1768 Hudson was resident sub-librarian of the British Museum, and his studies in the Sloane herbarium enabled him to adapt the Linnean nomenclature to the plants described by Ray far more accurately than did Sir John Hill in his Flora Britannica of 1700.In 1761 Hudson was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and in the following year appeared the first edition of his Flora Anglica, which, according to Pulteney and Sir J. E. Smith, "marks the establishment of Linnean principles of botany in England." Smith writes that the work was "composed under the auspices and advice of" Benjamin Stillingfleet
Benjamin Stillingfleet
Benjamin Stillingfleet was a botanist, translator and author. He is said to be the first Blue Stocking, a phrase from which is derived the term bluestocking now used to describe a learned woman.-Life:...
. Hudson, at the time of its publication, was practising as an apothecary in Panton Street, Haymarket, and from 1765 to 1771 acted as 'praefectus horti' to the Apothecaries' Company at Chelsea. A considerably enlarged edition of the Flora appeared in 1778; but in 1783 the author's house in Panton Street took fire, his collections of insects and many of his plants were destroyed, and the inmates narrowly escaped with their lives. Hudson retired to Jermyn Street.
In 1791 he joined the newly established Linnean Society. He died in Jermyn Street from paralysis on 23 May 1793, being, according to the Gentleman's Magazine, in his sixtieth year. He bequeathed the remains of his herbarium to the Apothecaries' Company. Linnaeus gave the name Hudsonia to a North American genus of Cistaceae.
Hudson was buried in St. James's Church in Westminster, London.
Selected works
- Flora Anglica (1762) - 1798 printing
Further reading
- Rees' Cyclopaedia article by Sir J. E. Smith
- Cornelius Nicholson's Annals of Kendal, p. 345
- Gentleman's Magazine 1793, i. 485
- Henry FieldHenry Field (apothecary)-Life:Born on 29 September 1755, was the eldest son of John Field, an apothecary in extensive practice in Newgate Street, London, by his wife, Anne, daughter of Thomas Cromwell, grocer, who was a grandson of Henry Cromwell, lord deputy of Ireland...
and Robert Hunter Semple, Memoirs of the Botanic Garden at Chelsea (1878), p. 88; Memoirs of the Botanic Garden at Chelsea.
- Trimen and Dyer's Flora of Middlesex, p. 392
- Pulteney's Sketches of the Progress of Botany, ii. 351
- Bromley's Catalogue of Portraits.