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 ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) 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 administrativ ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1869; his father was

George Wall George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English association football, footballer. Career Born in The Boldons, Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow F.C ...

. His daughter Hilary married the adult educator Norman Richmond in 1926. He is the brother of

Rowena Seymour, Duchess of Somerset Rowena Seymour née Wall (July 1861 - 13 November 1950) was an English noblewoman, philanthropist and wife of Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, who was styled as Duchess of Somerset from 22 October 1923. Early life and education Seymou ...

and the uncle of

Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954) was a British Army officer, landowner, peer, and for eight years Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was also a baronet. Between 1 May 1882 and 5 May 1931, h ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

. He left

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 may refer to: Academia * 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 * Dalton State Col ...

) from the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

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 people in British Ceylon