William Henry Arnold or Richard William Arnold (December 16, 1905 – November 10, 1976) was an American

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...

. He won the 1930 Indianapolis 500.

Early life and career

Billy Arnold was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on December 16, 1905. He earned his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

and after his racing days were over, pursued a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the MIAT College of Technology. Arnold won the 1930 Indianapolis 500 after leading all but first two laps of the race, the most ever by a winner of the race and he won by a margin of 7 minutes and 17 seconds. He was 24 years old at the time. In

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

he led 155 laps but crashed on lap 162 while holding a five-lap lead, suffering serious injuries along with his

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

Spider Matlock. A tire came off the car, bounced over the stands and killed 11-year-old Wilbur Brink, who was playing in his yard outside the track. In

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...

Arnold led 57 laps before crashing on lap 59. He suffered a broken shoulder and riding mechanic Matlock suffered a broken pelvis. At the urging of his wife, Arnold retired from racing. At the time of his death he was married to LaFrance Arnold, his second wife. Prior to his affair, in May 1932, he was married to Dorothy Canfield of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served with Gen.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

as Chief of Maintenance for the U.S. 8th

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

and left the service in 1945 as a LtCol. Following the war, Arnold worked at Fretwell's DeSoto then entered the construction business, building upscale houses and one of the first shopping centers in Oklahoma. Between 1950 and 1958, he developed water skis and was among the pioneers of the sport. His AquaKing water skis became the official water ski of

Cypress Gardens Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida. History Billed as Florida' ...

in Florida. Arnold died November 10, 1976, in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, of a cerebral hemorrhage, aged 70. He is buried at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery in Oklahoma City. Billy Arnold Gravestone Resurrection Cemetery Oklahoma City, OK

Billy Arnold Gravestone Resurrection Cemetery Oklahoma City, OK

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

The Greatest 33 Profile
1905 births 1976 deaths Grainger College of Engineering alumni Racing drivers from Chicago Champ Car champions Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters Indianapolis 500 winners AAA Championship Car drivers Military personnel from Chicago United States Army Air Forces colonels Burials in Oklahoma {{US-autoracing-bio-stub