Hubert Andrew Arnold

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Hubert A. Arnold died Oct 20, 1994 at his home in Davis. He was 82 years old Arnold was professor emeritus of mathematics at UC Davis. He was born in Chicago and received his A.B. in mathematics from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 1933. He studied at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) and received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1939. While studying at Caltech, he became friends with mathematician E.T. Bell and later helped author Constance Reid Write Bell's biography "The Search for E.T. Bell." Arnold entered the U.S. Navy in 1942, after serving as instructor of mathematics at the University of Minnesota, as a visiting research scholar at the University of Virginia and an instructor in mathematics and assistant to Professor Lefschetz at Princeton University. While in the Navy, Arnold rose from lieutenant (j.g.) to lieutenant commander. He served as officer in charge of Princeton's computer development program. He joined the department of mathematics at UCD in 1948 and remained until his retirement in 1980. His research interests were differentials in abstract spaces and the topological structure of limits sets. He taught a variety of courses and was known for his statistics classes and vocal support for greater public awareness of the pitfalls of faulty statistical data. Arnold was a person of many talents and interests. He was an accomplished piano player and he danced with the Martha Graham Dance Troupe in New York from 1946 to 1948. He also collected ceramics from all over the world during his many overseas trips. He donated a collection of more than 1,800 ceramics to the Crocker Art Museum, including outstanding pieces by British, Japanese and American artists, in addition to samples from Mexico and Africa. His donations helped to make the museum's collection one of the best of its kind. He was a indefatigable genealogist, tracing several family lines back to British Royalty. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). Hubert did most of his family history work in the 1950's and 1960's. He revived his interest in the early 1990's to the time of his death. Arnold is survived by his brother-in-law, Thomas M. Davies Sr. of Lincoln, Neb; his nephew, Dr Thomas M. Davies Jr. and great-niece Jennifer Davies of San Diego; his nephew, Charles Arnold Davies; his niece, Joanie Davies-Killenger; and his great nephews, Patrick and Timothy Killenger.