What year was Henry Hudson born?
Circa 1570. Little is known about Henry Hudson’s childhood. He was probably born in the 1570’s, possibly in Hoddersdon, about 17 miles northwest of London. Later, Hudson married a woman named Katherine. They had three sons. One of his sons, John Hudson, served on all of Henry Hudson’s voyages. Top of Page 3. What year did Henry Hudson make his first voyage? 1607. Henry Hudson wanted to find out if it were possible to sail from England to Asia by way of the North Pole. Geographers Robert Thorne and Peter Plancius thought it was possible. They reasoned the sun shines on the North Pole for twenty-four hours each day in the summer. Therefore, there had to be a warm-water, navigable sea near the North Pole. Hudson’s voyage was sponsored by the Muscovy Company. His ship was called the Hopewell. The Hopewell was a bark which is a small, wooden ship with three masts. In 1607, the ship was three years old and had sailed six other voyages. The sailors slept in cramped quarters aboard the Hopewel
