Edward Westhead Arthy was born on January 8, 1851, in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.

He was an educator, school superintendent, and author. He attended the Queen’s College, the University of Oxford and the University of Toronto (1873). In 1875, he was appointed headmaster of the Royal Arthur School in Montreal, Quebec. Around 1876 he became headmaster of the Preparatory High School, an elementary school connected to the High School of Montreal. In the 1883-1884 school year, Arthy was appointed a secretary-superintendent of the Protestant Board of School Commissioners of the City of Montreal and he stayed in the position until 1908 when he resigned due to ill health. During this period, he was also active in the leading Protestant educational bodies in the province, serving on the Protestant Central Board of Examiners, which certified teachers for the Protestant schools, and on various committees of the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers. He wrote many arithmetic manuals that were used in schools until 1932. He was praised for his personal qualities, his power of comprehensive mental grasp, his scholarly attainments, and his administrative ability.

He died on February 19, 1914, in Vancouver, British Columbia.