HURD, RICHARD (1720-1808). —Divine, and miscellaneous writer, b. at Congreve, Staffordshire, was ed. at Camb., and entering the Church, became Bishop successively of Lichfield and Worcester. He produced an ed. of the Ars Poetica of Horace, Dissertations on Poetry, Dialogues on Sincerity, Letters on Chivalry and Romance, and An Introduction to the Prophecies. He was in 1783 offered, but declined, the Primacy.
HUTCHESON, FRANCIS (1694-1746). —Philosopher, b. in Ireland, and ed. for the Presbyterian ministry at Glasgow Univ. After keeping an academy at Dublin for some years he pub. his Enquiry into Beauty and Virtue, which won for him a great reputation. In 1729 he became Prof. of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow, where he exercised a great influence over his students, and also upon the Scottish system of philosophy. In his philosophical views he was to some extent a disciple of Shaftesbury. He introduced the term, "moral sense," which he defined as a power of perceiving moral attributes in action. His System of Moral Philosophy appeared posthumously in two vols.
HUTCHINSON, MRS. LUCY (b. 1620). —Biographer, dau. of Sir Allan Apsley, Lieutenant of the Tower of London, m. in 1638 John, afterwards Colonel, Hutchinson, one of those who signed the death-warrant of Charles I., but who afterwards protested against the assumption of supreme power by Cromwell. She has a place in literature for her Life of her husband, one of the most interesting biographies in the language, not only on account of its immediate subject, but of the light which it throws upon the characteristics and conditions of the life of Puritans of good family. Originally intended for her family only, it was printed by a descendant in 1806, and did much to clear away the false impressions as to the narrowness and austerity of the educated Puritans which had prevailed. Colonel H. and his wife were noble representatives of their class.
HUTTON, RICHARD HOLT (1826-1897). —Essayist and miscellaneous writer, was brought up as a Unitarian, and for some time was a preacher of that body, but coming under the influence of F.D. Maurice and others of his school, joined the Church of England. He was a frequent contributor to various magazines and reviews, and assisted Walter Bagehot in ed. the National Review. In 1861 he became joint-proprietor and ed. of the Spectator. Among his other writings may be mentioned Essays, Theological and Literary (1871), Modern Guides of English Thought (1887), and Contemporary Thought and Thinkers (1894), which were more or less reprints or expansions of his work in periodicals, and a memoir of Bagehot prefixed to an ed. of his works.
HUXLEY, THOMAS HENRY (1825-1895). —Scientific writer, s. of an assistant master in a public school, was b. at Ealing. From childhood he was an insatiable reader. In his 13th year he became a medical apprentice, and in 1842 entered Charing Cross Hospital. Thereafter he was for a few months surgeon on board the Victory at Haslar, and was then appointed surgeon on H.M.S. Rattlesnake, which was sent to make surveys at Torres Strait. While in this position he made numerous observations, which he communicated to the Linnæan Society. In 1851 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1854 Prof. of Natural History at the School of Mines. Henceforth his life was a very full one, divided between scientific investigation and public work. He was recognised as the foremost English biologist, and was elected Pres. of the Royal Society 1883. He served on the London School Board and on various Royal Commissions. His writings are in the main distinguished by a clearness, force, and charm which entitle them to a place in literature; and besides the addition which they made to the stock of human knowledge, they did much to diffuse a love and study of science. H. was a keen controversialist, contending for the strictly scientific view of all subjects as distinguished from the metaphysical or theological, and accordingly encountered much opposition, and a good deal of abuse. Nevertheless, he was not a materialist, and was in sympathy with the moral and tender aspects of Christianity. He was a strong supporter of the theory of evolution. Among the more eminent of his opponents were Bishop Wilberforce and Mr. Gladstone. His pub. works, including scientific communications, are very numerous. Among the more important are those on the Medusæ, Zoological Evidences of Man's Place in Nature (1863), Elementary Lessons on Physiology (1866), Evolution and Ethics (1893), Collected Essays (9 vols. 1893-4). He was also an admirable letter-writer, as appears from the Life and Letters, ed. by his son, and to him we owe the word, and almost the idea, "Agnostic."