Overview
Robert Hudson (1801–1883) was an English naturalist. A gentleman of wealth, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834.
Early life and background, and the Cottons
He was the son of Captain Robert Hudson of the British East India Company and his wife Demetria Cotton, born in Camberwell. His mother was a niece of Charles Rogers, and aunt to William Cotton (1794–1863) the art collector and John Cotton the ornithologist.
Robert Hudson senior was a naval captain, and became a shipowner. He died in 1817, leaving his only son Robert junior a large fortune.
Hudson matriculated at New College, Oxford in 1823. There he knew John Wordsworth (1803–1875), eldest son of William Wordsworth. He went up to New College some months after his cousin Edward Cotton, son of his mother's brother William Cotton of Clapham FSA. Neither he nor Cotton completed a degree.
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