Thomas Arnold
George Richmond, RA 1809-1896
Oil on canvas?
Source: Frontispiece, Bradby's Rugby
"What Arnold did for public schools was to alter and expand, to a degree which amounted to a revolution, the aims and objects which these institutions set before themselves. Before his time the avowed object of the public schools was to impart learning; system and discipline were subservient to this end. . . . Arnold took a much broader view of the objects of education; while deeply impressed with the importance of learning, he realized that it was only a part of education, and that the great end and aim of education was the formation of character. . . . The ideal which he set before himself was to train boys to become not merely scholars but Christian gentlemen." — Bradby, 55 [GPL]
Scanned image and text by George P. Landow