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 organis ...
. He won the
1930 Indianapolis 500
The 18th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1930. The race was part of the 1930 AAA Championship Car season.
Pole position winner Billy Arnold took the lead on lap 3, and led th ...
.
Early life and career
Billy Arnold was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
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, 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 of ...
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, and ...
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 Universit ...
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 a ...
from the
MIAT College of Technology
The MIAT College of Technology (formally Michigan Institute of Aviation and Technology) is a private for-profit technical school with locations in Canton, Michigan and Houston, Texas. The college is a certified Federal Aviation Administration P ...
.
Arnold won the
1930 Indianapolis 500
The 18th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1930. The race was part of the 1930 AAA Championship Car season.
Pole position winner Billy Arnold took the lead on lap 3, and led th ...
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 (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
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 th ...
.
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 opposin ...
, 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 a ...
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
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. 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
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
, aged 70. He is buried at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery in Oklahoma City.
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
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