Arnold Wall (15 November 1869 – 29 March 1966) was a New Zealand university professor, philologist, poet, mountaineer, botanist, writer and radio broadcaster.

Early life and education

He was born in

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1869; his father was

George Wall George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English footballer. Career Born in Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow before joining Barnsley in 1903. In a ...

. His daughter Hilary married the adult educator

Norman Richmond Norman Macdonald Richmond (23 October 1897 – 13 July 1971) was a New Zealand adult education organiser and tutor, university lecturer, social reformer. He was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1897. Helen Simpson was his elder sister. After ...

in 1926. He is the brother of Rowena Seymour, Duchess of Somerset and the uncle of

Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954), styled as Lord Seymour between 1923–1931, was a British Army officer, landowner, peer, and for eight years Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was also a ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

. He left

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1897, having written his thesis on Scandinavian elements in English dialects.

Career

Wall was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to education. He received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

(

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

) from the

University of New Zealand A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1960.

References

External links

1869 births 1966 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge New Zealand mountain climbers 20th-century New Zealand botanists New Zealand poets New Zealand male poets New Zealand broadcasters British emigrants to New Zealand Academic staff of the University of Canterbury New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{NewZealand-writer-stub New Zealand people of English descent Wall family New Zealand people of Sri Lankan descent British expatriates in British Ceylon