The English educator Thomas Arnold (1795-1842) was a headmaster of Rugby School, and through his efforts it became the model for other English public schools and for boarding schools throughout the Western world.

Thomas Arnold was born in West Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, on June 13, 1795, the seventh child of William and Martha Arnold. His father was the postmaster and customs agent for the Isle of Wight. Arnold received his early education from his mother and an aunt. He attended the preparatory schools Warminster and Winchester from 1803 to 1811, prior to his admittance to Corpus Christi College of Oxford University. He graduated first class in classics in 1814. Through the influence of a friend he became a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford University, in 1814--a position he held until 1819. While there, he was ordained a deacon in the Church of England in 1818.

Arnold married Mary Penrose in 1820. He taught in...