Background

Kenneth Hudson was born on July 4, 1916, in London, United Kingdom.

Education

In his early years, Kenneth attended the Lower School of John Lyon (present-day The John Lyon School). Later, he studied at University College London.

Career

During World War II, Kenneth registered as a conscientious objector and served in the Friends' Ambulance Unit. After the war, as a fluent speaker of German, he was drafted to work on the allied denazification programme, Entnazifizierung, in Germany.

In 1947, Hudson was appointed a lecturer in adult education at the University of Bristol, a post he held till 1954, when he moved to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Bristol as a radio talks producer and industrial correspondent. In 1966, Kenneth moved to the Bristol College of Science and Technology (present-day the University of Bath) to set up an educational television service and remained in the position until 1972.

Speaking about his career as a journalist and museologist, Hudson was a controversial character of the European museum scene and inventor of the term "industrial archaeology" in the 1960's. It was also in the 1960's, that Kenneth was active in the annual conferences in Bath, which were influential in the growth of industrial archaeology in Great Britain and also attracted important overseas delegates, such as Marie Nisser from Sweden.

In 1971, Hudson was assigned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to research innovations in museums around the globe, and this led him to write "Museums of the Eighties", and, with Ann Nicholls, "The Directory of Museums". The latter part of Kenneth's career was devoted to work on the public level of museums, producing gazetteers, such as the classic "Cambridge Guide to Museums of Britain and Ireland" (1987), on which he also worked together with Ann Nicholls.

Also, it's worth noting, that, in 1977, together with John Letts, Kenneth founded the European Museum Forum.

During his career, Kenneth wrote more than 50 books, many of them on topics, related to industrial heritage or museums, but some on entirely different subjects. His most notable books include "Industrial Archaeology: an Introduction" (1963), "The Industrial Archaeology of Southern England" (1965), "Air Travel: a Social History" (1972), which exemplified his concern, that historical studies should extend up to the present, and "Where We Used to Work" (1980), which demonstrated the value of oral history.

In addition, Hudson was the first editor of the Journal of Industrial Archaeology, in which, with others, he produced an annual review of the rapidly growing literature.

Achievements

• Kenneth Hudson gained prominence as one of the pioneers of the study of industrial heritage, both in his native England and across Europe. He was also known as the museologist, who established the European Museum Forum in 1977.
  
  In addition, Hudson's name is retained in the Kenneth Hudson Award for the most unusual and daring achievement, that challenges common perceptions of the role of museums in society, which, since 2010, is awarded by the European Museums Forum.
  
  As a writer, Kenneth penned numerous books, the most notable of which are those, related to industrial heritage or museums. Among his best-known writings are "Industrial Archaeology: an Introduction" (1963), "The Industrial Archaeology of Southern England" (1965), "Air Travel: a Social History" (1972) and others.
  
  It's also worth noting, that Hudson was made Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Cambridge Guide to the Museums of Britain and Ireland

    (The museums of this country become more varied and exciti...)

    1987
  • Industrial Archaeology: An Introduction

    (Industrial archaeology is the study of early industrial b...)

    1963
  • The Industrial Archaeology of Southern England 1965
  • An Awkward Size for a Town: Study of Swindon at the 100,000 Mark 1967
  • Towards Precision Shoemaking 1968
  • Men and Women: Feminism and Anti-Feminism Today 1968
  • History of English China Clays: Fifty Years of Pioneering and Growth 1969
  • Industrial Archaeologist’s Guide 1969-70 1969
  • The Place Of Women In Society 1970
  • The Fashionable Stone 1971
  • A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Europe 1971
  • Air Travel: A Social History 1972
  • A Social History of Museums 1975
  • Where We Used To Work 1980
  • Exploring Cathedrals 1978
  • Food, Clothes and Shelter: Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology 1978

Membership

• 

  member

  Society of Antiquaries of London , United Kingdom

Personality

Kenneth often showed impatience with the writings of academic historians and was more interested in telling people's stories.