Claude Hudson

Claude Silbert Hudson (January 26, 1881 – December 27, 1952) was an American chemist who is best known for his work in the area of carbohydrate chemistry. He is also the namesake of the Claude S. Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry given by the American Chemical Society.

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Life and work

Hudson was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1881. Originally planning to become a minister, he enrolled in Princeton University, but soon his interests changed to science. He graduated from Princeton in 1901 with a bachelor's degree, and earned a Master of Science degreee in 1902. He then went to Europe to study under Nernst and van't Hoff. On returning from Europe, Hudson worked as a physics instructor for a year at Princeton and later at the University of Illinois, earning a Ph.D. in 1907. He later held positions at the National Bureau of Standards and the National Institutes of Health (1928 – 1951), both in Washington, DC.

He was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1927.

Hudson is also remembered for the so-called Hudson's rules, concerning the optical rotation of sugars.

Selected early writings

• Hudson, C. S. and Garland, C. M. (1908), Tests of a liquid air plant, Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois
• Hudson, C. S. (1910), The quantitative determination of cane sugar by the use of invertase, Washington: Government Printing Office
• Hudson, C. S. and Paine, H. S. (1910), The influence of acids and alkalis on the activity invertase, Washington: Government Printing Office
• Hudson, C. S. (1910), A relation between the chemical constitution and the optical rotary power of the sugar lactones, Washington: Government Printing Office

Claude S. Hudson Award

The Claude S. Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry has been given since 1946 by the American Chemical Society. Awardees are listed below.

Further reading

• Biographical Information
• The Collected Papers of C. S. Hudson (1946), New York: Academic Press