author

Arthur Joseph Hungerford Pollen

1866–1937

A lively journalist and businessman who became one of Britain’s sharpest commentators on naval warfare, he is best remembered for helping pioneer an early analog fire-control computer for battleships. His life moved between politics, publishing, and technology in the years leading up to the First World War.

1 Audiobook

The British Navy in Battle

The British Navy in Battle

by Arthur Joseph Hungerford Pollen

About the author

Born in London on September 13, 1866, and educated at the Oratory School and Trinity College, Oxford, he first trained for the law before drifting toward journalism, criticism, and public life. He even stood as a Liberal candidate for Parliament in 1895, though unsuccessfully.

His career took a striking turn after he joined the Linotype business through marriage into the Lawrence family. Interest in naval gunnery led him to develop the Argo fire-control system, including the Argo Clock, an early electrically powered analog computer designed to help battleships aim more accurately at moving targets. That work made him an important, if sometimes controversial, figure in the history of naval technology.

He also wrote extensively, especially on sea power and war, and remained active as a commentator as well as an inventor. Papers preserved at Churchill Archives Centre show how wide his interests were, spanning naval affairs, correspondence with senior Royal Navy figures, and literary work. He died on January 28, 1937.