Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Arnold, William Thomas
ARNOLD, WILLIAM THOMAS (1852–1904), author and journalist, born at Hobart, Tasmania, on 18 Sept. 1852, was eldest son and second child of Thomas Arnold [q. v. Suppl. I], nephew of Matthew Arnold [q. v. Suppl. I], and grandson of Dr. Arnold of Rugby [q. v.]. His mother was Julia, daughter of William Sorell, registrar of deeds, Hobart. His elder sister is the well-known novelist Mrs. Humphry Ward; On the return of his parents to England in 1856 Arnold lived mainly with his father's kindred at Fox How, Ambleside. From 1862 to 1865 he was at the Oratory School, Birmingham, where his father was classical master under John Henry Newman [q. v.]. When Thomas Arnold left the Roman catholic church, his son was sent to Rugby, where he lived for a year with the headmaster, Frederick Temple [q. v. Suppl. II], and then in September 1866 entered Charles Arnold's house. He matriculated on 14 Oct. 1871 at University College, Oxford, then under the mastership of G. G. Bradley [q. v. Suppl. II], and was elected to a scholarship in 1872. He took a second class both in honour moderations (in 1873) and in lit. hum. (in 1875). After graduating B.A. in 1876 Arnold settled at Oxford, combining literary work with private coaching.
In 1879 he won the Arnold prize with an essay on 'The Roman System of Provincial Administration to the Accession of Constantino the Great.' The work, which was published in 1879, was a thorough digest of the literary and epigraphic sources, and is the chief English authority. A new edition, revised from the author's notes by E. S. Shuckburgh [q. v. Suppl. II], appeared posthumously in 1906. In 1879 Arnold adopted the profession of a journalist, joining the staff of the 'Manchester Guardian' and settling at Manchester. As writer and sub-editor he devoted his versatile energy to the 'Manchester Guardian' for seventeen years. A Gladstonian liberal in politics, he fought with courage and consistency through the long home rule controversy of 1885-95. Subsequently, in 'German Ambitions as they affect Britain and the United States' (1903), a collection of letters originally contributed to the 'Spectator' under the signature 'Vigilans et Æquus,' Arnold proved his mastery of foreign contemporary literature and his ability to draw prudent deductions from it. But history, literature, and art continued to compete with politics for his interest. He helped to develop the literary section of the 'Manchester Guardian,' and he encouraged local artists, taking an active part in the establishment of the Manchester School of Art. His house at Manchester was the centre of an interesting political, literary, and artistic circle.
Arnold never ceased to devote his scanty leisure to Roman history. In 1886 he published a critical edition of the section on the Punic war in his grandfather's 'History of Rome'; and contributions between 1886 and 1895 to the 'English Historical Review' showed the strength of his interest in ancient history. As years went on Arnold grew fastidious over writing on his chosen subject; and though to the last he kept up with the latest research, eight chapters of an incomplete history of the early Roman empire, posthumously edited by E. Fiddes under the title of 'Studies in Roman Imperialism' (1906), are all that remain of his accumulated material. They bear witness to his width of knowledge, maturity of thought, and cautious temper.
Spinal disease compelled Arnold's retirement from the 'Manchester Guardian' in 1898, and next year he moved to London, where he was for a time still able to see friends and to write a little. Occasionally he travelled south. On his return from a visit to St. Jean-de-Luz he died at Carlyle Square, Chelsea, on 29 May 1904. He was buried at Little Shelford, near Cambridge. In 1877 Arnold married Henrietta, daughter of Charles Wale, J.P., of Little Shelford, and granddaughter of Archbishop Whately [q. v.]; she survived him without issue.
In addition to the publications already mentioned Arnold issued a scholarly edition of Keats (1884; new edit. 1907). He was a contributor to T. Humphry Ward's 'English Poets' (1880-2); and some penetrating dramatic reviews by him were published in 'The Manchester Stage, 1880-1900' (1900). He revised his father's edition of Dryden's 'Essay of Dramatic Poesy' in 1903.
[Memoir of William Thomas Arnold (with portrait) by his sister, Mrs. Humphry Ward, and his colleague of the Manchester Guardian, C. E. Montague, 1907; The Times, 30 May 1904; Manchester Guardian, 30 May 1904; Quarterly Review, Oct. 1905; Rugby School Register, 1842-1874, p. 266, 1902; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1888.]