Arthur W. Clayden

Not to be confused with his uncle, Arthur Clayden.
Arthur W. Clayden
FGS FRMetS FCS FRAS
Born
Arthur William Clayden

(1855-12-12)12 December 1855
Boston, Lincolnshire, England
Died12 February 1944(1944-02-12) (aged 88)
Parkstone, Dorset, England
Occupations
Known forCreator of the actinograph for meteorological research
Spouse
Ethel Paterson
​
(m. 1883)​
ParentPeter Clayden
Academic background
EducationUniversity College School
Alma materChrist's College, Cambridge (MA)
Academic work
DisciplineMeteorology, Geology, Chemistry
InstitutionsBath College
University of Cambridge
Royal Albert Memorial College
Principal of Royal Albert Memorial College
In office
1893-1920
Preceded byfirst incumbent
Succeeded byHector Hetherington
President of the Devonshire Association
In office
1915
Preceded byProfessor A. M. Worthington
Succeeded byDr E. J. Allen

Arthur William Clayden FGS FRMetS FCS FRAS (12 December 1855[1] - 12 February 1944)[2] was an English Earth scientist and natural historian,[3] known for being the first Principal of the Royal Albert Memorial College, Exeter,[4] predecessor of the present day University of Exeter.

Early life and education

Clayden was born on 12 December 1855 in Boston, Lincolnshire.[1][4] His father was Peter Clayden, a Unitarian Minister and political journalist. His mother Jane (née Fowle) was his father's first wife.[5] Clayden shared his first name with his uncle, Arthur Clayden, who was his father’s younger brother.[6]

Clayden was educated at University College School, followed by Christ's College, Cambridge, where he sat the Natural Sciences Tripos.[4] He graduated with a BA in 1877,[3] which was upgraded to an MA (Cantab) in 1880.[7]

Academic career

From 1878 to 1887, Clayden worked as Science Master at Bath College.[4] From 1887 to 1893, he was an "Extension Lecturer", officially employed by University of Cambridge.[5] This role involved Clayden giving "outreach" academic lectures to different community groups.[3]

In 1893, Exeter Technical and University Extension College was founded at what is now Royal Albert Memorial Museum.[8] This college was the predecessor of the present day University of Exeter, and Clayden was appointed as the college's first principal as well as its chair of Physics and Geology.[9][3][4] His teaching was referenced in the biography of Ernest Kennaway by James Wilfred Cook (who became the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter after it was granted royal charter in 1955):

Not long before [Kennaway’s] death, he wrote to me in the following terms about A. W. Clayden, a former head of the institution which is now the University of Exeter: ‘In the nineties he was my first instructor in Chemistry and in his favourite subjects of physiography and geology, of which he was an absolute born teacher; I have never enjoyed any teaching more than his.’ (Cook, 1958)[10]

During his tenure as principal, the college building saw numerous extensions, and in 1899, a new wing was built, opened by the then Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary), who also commended the college's achievement. The royal visit also led to the college being renamed Royal Albert Memorial College.[11][8]

Clayden was succeeded as college principal by Hector Hetherington in 1920,[1] under whose tenure the college gained funding from University Grants Committee and became University College of the South West.[12][13] In his retirement, Clayden continued some of his teaching responsibilities, staying on as "visiting director" of the college's Geology and Geography department until his death in 1944.[14]

Scientific contributions

During his academic career, Clayden published many articles in academic journals in a variety fields, namely meteorology, photography, astronomy, physics and geology.[4] He also wrote two books: Cloud Studies (1905) and The History of Devon Scenery (1906).[3][5]

Clayden was involved in many learned societies. He was a member of the Geographical section of the British Association,[15] where he also co-founded the committee on Meteorological Photography in 1890, serving as its secretary.[16] He also served as President of the Devonshire Association in 1915.[17] His presidential address, delivered on 20 July, was titled, The Future of Higher Education in Exeter.[18]

Honours and recognition

Clayden was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1885,[19] followed by the Royal Meteorological Society[20] and the Chemical Society[21] in 1886, and the Royal Astronomical Society in 1897.[22] Having joined the Geologists' Association in 1899, Clayden was later made an honorary life member of the association.[4]

In 1954, University of Exeter named its newly built residence for the Vice-Chancellor (then James Wilfred Cook) Clayden, after the first principal of the university's predecessor institution.[23] The Clayden Building, located on Streatham Rise, currently houses Exeter University's Centre for Computational Social Science.[24]

Personal life

Clayden married his wife Ethel (née Paterson) in 1883.[5] Their son, Arthur Ludlow, was born in 1883 in Bath, Somerset and went on to become a journalist.[25] Their daughter, Hilda Marion, was born in 1885 and died in the same year at 2 months old.[26]

Outside of his academic work, Clayden was known for being an avid and able painter.[4] One of his paintings, “Outside the Sand Bar, Salcombe”, is currently held in University of Exeter’s Fine Arts collection.[3]

Clayden died on 12 December 1944 at his home in Parkstone, Dorset, survived by his wife.[2]

Notable publications

  • Clayden, Arthur William (1905). Cloud Studies. London: John Murray – via Project Gutenberg.
  • Clayden, Arthur William (1906). The history of Devonshire scenery: an essay in geographical evolution. London: Chatto & Windus – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Clayden, A. W. (1911). "Cloud" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Contemporary Birthdays". Nature. 118 (2980): 861–861. 1 December 1926. doi:10.1038/118861a0. ISSN 1476-4687.
  2. ^ a b National Probate Calendar Index of Wills and Administrations (1858–1995). 1995. p. 205.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Outside the Bar, Salcombe - a watercolour painting by Arthur W Clayden". Arts & Culture Exeter. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h D, H. "Arthur William Clayden". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 56 (1): 50. doi:10.1016/s0016-7878(45)80035-4. ISSN 0016-7878 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  5. ^ a b c d Lawrence, A., ed. (1928). "Clayden, Arthur William". Who's Who among Living Authors of Older Nations. Vol. I. Golden Syndicate Publishing Company. p. 107 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Woods, G. S. (23 September 2004), "Clayden, Peter William (1827–1902), journalist and author", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32439, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 17 March 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  7. ^ Venn, John; Venn, John Archibald (1944). "Clayden, Arthur William". Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Vol. II (part II). Cambridge University Press. p. 60 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ a b "History of the University". University Of Exeter Calendar 1974-75. Exeter. 1974. pp. 23–28 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ "Arthur W Clayden, Principal (1893-1920)". University of Exeter. University of Exeter. Retrieved 16 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ Cook, James Wilfred (30 November 1958). "Ernest Laurence Kennaway, 1881-1958". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society (4): 138–154. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1958.0013. ISSN 0080-4606.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  11. ^ "University and Educational Intelligence". Nature. 60 (1549): 237. 6 July 1899. doi:10.1038/060237b0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  12. ^ W, E. (1964). "In Memoriam: Sir Hector Hetherington". Bulletin of the British Association for American Studies. 9: 5–6. doi:10.1017/S0524500100001820. ISSN 2053-5988.
  13. ^ Neville, Julia (2019). "From Museum to University College: A Guided Walk". www.exeterlocalhistorysociety.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  14. ^ Steers, J. A. (8 October 1987), Steel, Robert W. (ed.), "Physical geography in the universities, 1918–1945" (PDF), British Geography 1918–1945, Cambridge University Press, pp. 138–155, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511551635.011, ISBN 978-0-521-24790-0, retrieved 20 March 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  15. ^ "Proceedings of the Geographical Section of the British Association. (Concluded)". Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography. 11 (11): 686–696. 1889. ISSN 0266-626X.
  16. ^ "The Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies of the British Association". Nature. 43 (1100): 92–94. 1 November 1890. doi:10.1038/043092a0. ISSN 1476-4687.
  17. ^ "Transactions Contents". The Devonshire Association. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Address of the President". Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association. Vol. 47. 1915. pp. 62–82.
  19. ^ "Proceedings of the Geological Society of London". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 41 (1–4): 1–7. 1885. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1885.041.01-04.03. ISSN 0370-291X.
  20. ^ Royal Meteorological Society (1886). "Proceedings at the meetings of the society - Ordinary Meeting - March 17th 1886". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 12: 211 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ The Chemical Society (1886). Abstracts of the proceedings of the Chemical Society. Vol. II. London: Harrison and Sons. p. 187 – via Internet Archive.
  22. ^ Ball, R. S. (14 May 1897). "Arthur W. Clayden, M.A., F.G.S., St. John's, Polsloe Road, Exeter". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 57 (7): 503–515. doi:10.1093/mnras/57.7.503. ISSN 0035-8711.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  23. ^ "University of Exeter Special Collection - EUL UA/P/2a". University of Exeter. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Contact us | Q-step Centre for Computational Social Science (C2S2)". University of Exeter. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  25. ^ "Arthur Ludlow Clayden". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  26. ^ "Hilda Marion Clayden". Bath Record Office. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
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