William W. Arnold

William W. Arnold (commonly "W. W."; August 28, 1843 – March 30, 1923) was an American physician better known for his hobby as an ornithologist. Born in Connersville, Indiana, he initially practiced medicine near Rushville, Indiana. In 1886, he visited Colorado and decided to move there. He settled in Colorado Springs in October of that year. He operated a practice in downtown Colorado Springs and compounded medicine for his patients. He is best known as the founder and operator of a bird hospital, where he cared for ill and injured birds. He cared for domestic birds and had many wild birds after bad weather, like hail storms. He wrote articles about nature and birds and gave talks about them to schoolchildren in Colorado and Indiana. He was a physician and caregiver for the bird hospital until his death at age 79.

Early years Dr. John Arnold Farm in Union Township, Rush County, Indiana. Built in 1853, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Arnold was born August 28, 1843, in Connersville, Indiana. born in 1815, came to the United States in 1820 or 1821 from the Isle of Wight. John had a medical practice at Connersville. His mother, Sara Ann Ball, descended from Davis Ball, an American Revolutionary War soldier, and Mary Hatfield. He had an older sister, Mary, and a younger brother, John. He was raised in Union Township, Rush County, Indiana, where the Arnolds were pioneers and had a farm.

Physician In 1869, he treated a girl for pneumonia after her grandfather, a medicine man, had failed. In appreciation, Arnold was given a long-stemmed pipe and bear claw necklace and was adopted by the Chippewas of the Crow Wing Reservation in Minnesota.

He moved to Colorado Springs in October 1886, He had an office in downtown Colorado Springs, where he compounded medicine for his patients. Arnold was a member of national, state, and El Paso County Medical Associations. He continued to practice medicine until a few days before his death.

Ornithologist He became an Associate Member of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1910 and a member of the Cooper Ornithological Club in 1911 and spent much of his later years advocating for bird protection. A child from Colorado Springs brought a wounded bird to Arnold, who took care of it. He treated wounded birds, set broken bones, and administered medicine; when they were healed, he released them. In another article for the paper, Arnold explained what happened at the bird hospital, relating injuries to wings and a bird that was crippled when a car rode over it. He explained that over time he developed a routine for feeding with slim forceps and varying the birds' diet of berries, fruits, worms, and hamburger meat as they healed. They had a son, Clarence, born about 1869, who became a surgeon, and died by 1923. He died of influenza and both are buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

After her husband's death, Eva continued to operate the bird hospital with Augustus P. Brigham, who also established the Arnold Nature Club for children. The club taught 4th through 6th grade children about trees, flowers and birds. Prizes were given to children based on the number of flower and bird species that they identified.