Joseph Hudson (1848–1930) was an inventor in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during the late 19th century and the founder of

J Hudson & Co J Hudson & Co was founded in the 1870s in Birmingham by Joseph Hudson (1848–1930) and his brother James Hudson (1850–1889). The company became a manufacturer of whistles and continues as Acme Whistles. Acme is the world's largest and most ...

in 1870, later to become the world largest

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a larg ...

manufacturer . Hudson entered a competition held by the Metropolitan police force in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1883 to design a better way of attracting people's attention. He won a contract to supply the police with their new devices, a small but loud '

'. Prior to this time the police force had to rely on hand rattles Taylor, J
"The Victorian Police Rattle Mystery"/
''The Constabulary (2003) and whistles were only thought of as musical instruments or toys. His whistle is still used by the force and many others worldwide. He later invented the first

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

whistle for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches, prior to this

handkerchiefs A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wi ...

were used at games. Hudson also invented the 'Acme Thunderer', the first ever pea

, which has been, and remains, the most used whistle in the world, from train guards to dog handlers, party goers to police officers.

Notes

External links

ACME Whistles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Joseph English inventors People from Birmingham, West Midlands 1930 deaths 1848 births