Arthur William Clayden

Arthur William Clayden (12 December 1855 - 12 February 1944) was an English Earth scientist and natural historian, known for being the first Principal of the Royal Albert Memorial College, Exeter, predecessor of the present day University of Exeter.

Early life and education Clayden was born on 12 December 1855 in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Clayden was educated at University College School, followed by Christ's College, Cambridge, where he sat the Natural Sciences Tripos.

Academic career From 1878 to 1887, Clayden worked as Science Master at Bath College. This role involved Clayden giving "outreach" academic lectures to different community groups. 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.

Clayden was succeeded as college principal by Hector Hetherington in 1920, 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.

During his academic career, Clayden published many articles in academic journals in a variety fields, namely meteorology, photography, astronomy, physics and geology. where he also co-founded the committee on Meteorological Photography in 1890, serving as its secretary. He also served as President of the Devonshire Association in 1915. His presidential address, delivered on 20 July, was titled, The Future of Higher Education in Exeter. Such was the influence of the speech that it led to the establishment of a Committee for the Furtherance of University Education in the South West, which eventually succeeded in Clayden's college receiving funding from the University Grants Committee in 1922 and finally receiving royal charter to become University of Exeter in 1955.

Honours and recognition Clayden was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1885, followed by the Royal Meteorological Society and the Chemical Society in 1886, and the Royal Astronomical Society in 1897. Having joined the Geologists' Association in 1899, Clayden was later made an honorary life member of the association. The Clayden Building, located on Streatham Rise, currently houses Exeter University's Centre for Computational Social Science.

Personal life Clayden married his wife Ethel (née Paterson) in 1883. Their daughter, Hilda Marion, was born in 1885 and died in the same year at 2 months old.

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

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

Notable publications