Edward Hudson (1743 – 4 October 1821) was an Irish dentist, born in

Castlemartyr Castlemartyr (, formerly anglicised as ''Ballymarter'' or ''Ballymartyr'') is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located 25 minutes east of Cork city, 10 km (6 mi) east of Midleton, 16 km (10 mi) west of Youghal and 6&n ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Biography

Hudson was an eminent

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

, at a time when dentistry was still very much a fledgling practice. He created a "Preservative and other Dentifrices" for the bettering of

dental hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...

during his time as a dentist. Edward Hudson lived and practiced in

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowest p ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and latterly lived at The Hermitage in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

, Dublin (known in Edward's time as Fields of Odin, and subsequently as St. Enda's). This grand building on the outskirts of Dublin is now the home of the

Pearse Museum The Pearse Museum ( ga, Músaem na bPiarsach) is dedicated to the memory of Patrick Pearse and his brother, William. Patrick Pearse was an educationalist and nationalist who was executed for his part in the 1916 Rising. The museum is situated i ...

, which celebrates the life of

Patrick Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary who ...

During his time at ''The Hermitage'', Hudson built several ruins along the edge of the grounds, which remain to this day. The ruins were deliberately built as such from new, using rough stone to create the impression that they had existed for many years. These include a small

Watchtower (fortification) A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

, a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

's cave, a

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

and a ruined abbey. Amongst other vocations, Hudson was a director of the

Grand Canal of Ireland The Grand Canal ( ga, An Chanáil Mhór) is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west, via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly enci ...

, a scientific experimenter and philosopher, and a publisher of several anonymous scientific and political treatises. Hudson was the uncle of

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

, the first State Dentist of Ireland, who was inspired to become a Dentist by his uncle. Edward's son Henry Philerin Hudson subsequently succeeded Dr Blake as State Dentist. In addition to his residences in Dublin, Hudson also owned ''The Manor'' in Glenville,

, which he purchased sometime between 1776 and 1788. Edward Hudson is buried in Glenville Churchyard, along with other members of the Hudson family including his son

William Elliott Hudson William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the composer and collector of ancient Irish music. It was Hudson's wish that when buried, his grave in the small churchyard at Glenville would be covered by: :"a hollow cone or Pyramid ..for the purporse of performing therein my invented experiments on the

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

for elucidating the Phenomena and motions of

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

Planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

s and

Satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

; also my new theory of the Pendulum and that of falling bodies & many other things .. Sadly, such a cone was never built, and the £500 left for this purpose must have gone to an alternative use.

Published works

*Hudson, Edward (anonymous — dedication signed "A Patrician"; (1788). ''Ode on St Cecilia’s Birthday'', J. Jones, Dublin.

References

* (1820, 1823) ''Almanac Registry Directory of Dublin''. *(1822). ''Prerogative Will of Edward Hudson''. National Archives, Kew, London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Edward Irish dentists Health professionals from County Cork 1743 births 1821 deaths People from Castlemartyr 18th-century dentists 19th-century dentists