Joseph Ray Hodgson (3 October 1829—15 October 1908) was an Englishman hailed as a hero dozens of times after risking his life to save people from drowning, often during a winter storm in the North Sea. He was nicknamed "The Stormy Petrel", after the storm petrel seabird, because whenever a gale blew up, he could be seen on Sunderland pier searching the skyline for ships in distress in order that he might help. Hodgson was living and working in Sunderland at the same time as the diver, Harry Watts, who was also famed for saving lives.