Sir Thomas Walker Arnold (19 April 1864 – 9 June 1930) was a British orientalist and historian of

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...

. He taught at

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammed ...

, later

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

, and

Government College University, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Go ...

. Arnold was a friend of

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...

, who influenced him to write the famous book ''The Preaching of Islam'', and of

Shibli Nomani Shibli Nomani ( ur, – ; 3 June 1857 – 18 November 1914) was an Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh.Syed Sulaiman Nadvi Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (—; 22 November 1884 – 22 November 1953) was a Pakistani historian, writer and scholar of Islam. He co-authored ''Sirat-un-Nabi'' and wrote ''Khutbat-e-Madras''.Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

. He was the first English editor for the first edition of ''

The Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published ...

''.

Life

Thomas Walker Arnold was born in

Devonport, Plymouth Devonport ( ), formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one o ...

on 19 April 1864, and educated at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...

. From 1888 he worked as a teacher at the

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

. In 1892 he married Celia Mary Hickson, a niece of

Theodore Beck Theodore Beck (4 July 1859 – 2 September 1899Buckland, C. E., ''Dictionary of Indian biography'', 1906) was a Quaker and British educationalist working for the British Raj in India. From 1883 until his death in 1899 he was Principal of Muh ...

. In 1898, he accepted a post as Professor of Philosophy at the

Government College, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Go ...

and later became Dean of the Oriental Faculty at Punjab University. From 1904 to 1909, he was on the staff of the India Office as Assistant Librarian. In 1909 he was appointed Educational Adviser to Indian students in Britain. From 1917 to 1920 he acted as Adviser to the

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

. He was Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the

School of Oriental Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, from 1921 to 1930. Arnold was invested as a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

in 1912, and in 1921 was invested as a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. He died on 9 June 1930.

Works

* * (trans. and ed.) '' The little flowers of Saint Francis'' by

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

. London: J.M. Dent, 1898. * ''The Court Painters of the Grand Moghuls''. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1921. * ''The Caliphate''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924. Reissued with an additional chapter by Sylvia G. Haim: Routledge and Kegan Paul, London 1965. * ''Painting in Islam, A Study of the Place of Pictorial Art in Muslim Culture''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928. Reprint ed. 1965. * ''Bihzad and his Paintings in the Zafar-namah ms''. London: B. Quaritch, 1930. * (with Alfred Guillaume) ''The Legacy of Islam''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1931. * ''The Old and New Testaments in Muslim Religious Art''. London: Pub. for the British Academy by H. Milford, Oxford University Press. Schweich Lectures for 1928.

References

External links

Arnold, Sir Thomas Walker
School of Oriental and African Studies: home page
Sir Thomas Walker
entry in

Encyclopaedia Iranica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Thomas Walker 1864 births 1930 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Aligarh Muslim University faculty English orientalists British scholars of Islam People educated at the City of London School Government College University, Lahore faculty Victorian writers 19th-century English writers 20th-century English writers 20th-century English male writers Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire