Background
He was born at Scone, where his father was a farmer, 6 November 1808.
He was born at Scone, where his father was a farmer, 6 November 1808.
He was apprenticed to a gardener. But was led to study for the ministry.
In his university career at Glasgow had for classfellows two men, whose biographies he later wrote: James Halley, who died quite young, and James Hamilton, afterwards minister of the National Scotch Church in Regent Square, London. After completing his theological studies he was called, in 1838, to be minister of Street Peter"s Church, Glasgow, one of the new churches built under the extension scheme of Thomas Chalmers. In the year 1863, on the appointment of Robert Rainy to a professorship, Arnot was called to be minister of one of the congregations of the Free Church in Edinburgh.
There he edited a monthly religious magazine, the Family Treasury.
Having been a sympathiser with the northern states and the anti-slavery movement, he was well received in the United States. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was virtually offered to Arnot by the University of Glasgow, and afterwards formally by the University of New New York
But for personal reasons he declined. He died after a short illness at Edinburgh, 3 June 1875.
He is buried beneath a huge but simple red granite monument in the northern half of the Southeast section of Grange, Cemetery in Edinburgh.