Arthur Ernest Bell

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Dr. Arthur Ernest Bell was the headmaster of Cheltenham Grammar School (CGS) from 1952 to 1970.

I attended CGS during the time my family lived in Cheltenham. For me this was from about October 1969 to June 1971. At the start of my time there our headmaster was a man I knew as Dr. A. E. Bell. He was nearing retirement when I began at the school, and was a very interesting personality. I really liked him. He happened to teach an extracurricular class on Philosophy that was offered to older pupils, and I participated in it. Dr. Bell was a big fan of British philosopher Bertrand Russell, or at least he spoke highly and often of him.

A Brief Biography

Arthur Ernest Bell was born on 18 February 1910 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne-and-Wear. He attended the Royal Grammar School at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and studied Chemistry at Durham University and at Oxford.

During his last year of heading CGS he married Lucile Douglas Moore (nee Stephens), the widow of best-selling British writer John Cecil Moore.

He died on 14 July 1995 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, aged 85. Unfortunately he suffered from dementia caused by cerebral arteriosclerosis in those final years, which is what led to his death.

Career

Dr. Bell was primarily involved in education. And as a student of science, one of his great interests was the teaching of the history of science, as evidenced by two of the books he wrote. Among other positions, he taught at the University College of London (UCL), and was head of the science departments at both Clifton College and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

During his time teaching at UCL, he studied with famed professor Abraham Wolf (1876-1948), who lectured as Professor of Logic and Scientific Method from 1920 to 1941. Wolf's book, A History of Science Technology and Philosophy in the 16 and 17th Centuries, published in 1935, clearly had a great influence upon Dr. Bell.

Books by Dr. Bell

Dr. Bell wrote at least three books, which I have in my collection.

  • 1948 - Christian Huygens and the Development of Science in the Seventeenth Century - A history of science as it developed during the time of Christian Huygens
  • 1961 - Newtonian Science - A history of science as it developed during the time of Sir Isaac Newton
  • 1974 - A Sketch of the History of Richard Pate's Foundation in Cheltenham - This book is a history of the grammar schools of Cheltenham.