Hodgson Collection

The Hodgson collection was donated by Dr. Percy Hodgson in 1978 to the Bryant Library in memory of his wife Edith M. Hodgson. Along with the donation of this collection, Dr. Hodgson made a $250,000 monetary donation. On June 24, 1978 the library, which was in the Unistructure, was dedicated to and named the Edith M. Hodgson Memorial Library.

Edith M. (Parkin) Hodgson was born on June 3, 1900 in Providence, RI. She attended Bryant College and graduated in 1916. She was a humanitarian and civic leader as well as being considered the “First Lady of Rotary”. She passed away on November 11, 1977.

Percy Hodgson was born in 1902 in Bradford, England. He emigrated to the United States when he was 16. He founded Parkin Yarn Mill in Pawtucket, RI with his father-in-law, Thomas Parkin, in 1922 and ran the mill for 58 years. He was an active member in Rotary International and was a member of the Rotary Club of Pawtucket starting in 1932. He was a past president of the Pawtucket Club, a director, a district governor, a committee chairman, and a member. He was Chairman of the Magazine Committee from 1953-1954, and he was a Trustee of the Rotary Foundation from 1950-1955. Bryant College awarded him an honorary degree in business administration in 1968. Dr. Percy Hodgson passed away on January 1, 1986.

The artifacts in this collection were gifts that were given to Dr. Hodgson and Edith during visits to multiple countries during Dr. Hodgson’s tenure as President of International Rotary from 1949-1950. During his time as President, Dr. Hodgson and Edith travelled 200,000 miles and visited 79 countries. In addition to the gifts they were given, Dr. Hodgson was decorated by the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Lebanon, and Peru. During their travels, Dr. Hodgson and Edith met over 341,000 Rotarians. The articles in this collection are representative of the distinctive craftsmanship of their country of origin.