Joseph Huddart

Joseph Huddart FRS (1741–1816) was a British hydrographer. He surveyed harbours and coasts but made a fortune from improving the design and manufacture of rope. He was highly regarded in his time, and his likeness featured in an engraving of distinguished men of science. Huddart was chosen to feature in the central group of the picture with M. I. Brunel, James Watt, Matthew Boulton and Thomas Telford.

Huddart was born at Allonby in Cumberland. Huddart's father was both a shoemaker, a farmer and a fish smoker. Huddart's natural talents were mathematics and mechanics. Huddart had built models of a mill and a ship of war merely from descriptions he had read about. He initially joined his father's fish processing business. His father had taken advantage of an unusual occurrence and joined with others to start the Herring Fishery Company. Shoals of fish had arrived in the Solway Firth and there was a profit for any who could preserve the fish for export. In 1762 his father died and Huddart inherited his father's share of the fish processing business.

The following year Huddart married Elizabeth Johnson. He took the role of captaining a brig which was used to trade along the Irish coast selling smoked fish for resale to the West Indies. Six years later he built an improved ship and studied the arts of surveying and navigation.

In 1771 he was introduced to Sir Richard Hotham, who had also come from humble beginnings. Hotham had influence with the East India Company and Huddart was related to Hotham by his marriage to one of Huddart's uncle's daughters.

In 1778 he started out on four voyages to the east, eventually in command of the East Indiaman Royal Admiral for her maiden and two subsequent voyages. He completed surveys of the coast of India and Sumatra. From 1788 he completed surveys of the Hebrides and in 1791 he became a fellow of the Royal Society and joined the management of Trinity House as an elder brother. He took charge of enquiries regarding light, lighthouses and charts and he supervised and directed the construction of the Hurst Point Lighthouse.

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