The Biographical Dictionary of America/Arnold, George

ARNOLD, George, author, was born in New York city, June 24, 1834. Before he arrived at school age his parents removed to Illinois, where he attended the public schools until his fifteenth year; they then settled at Strawberry Farms, N. J. Having a talent for drawing, he entered the studio of a painter in New York, but soon abandoned his purpose of becoming an artist and devoted himself to literature. His contributions to Vanity Fair and the New York Leader soon brought him into popular favor, and a series of articles, entitled the "McArone Papers," added to his reputation, and established his fame as a humorist. His poems are remarkable for their sweetness and delicacy of sentiment. His works were collected after his death by William Winter, and published in two duodecimo volumes. "The Jolly Old Pedagogue" is his best-known poem. He died Nov. 3, 1865.