Sir Arthur Frederic Brownlow fforde GBE (23 August 1900 – 26 June 1985) was an English solicitor, civil servant, headmaster, writer and businessman. Arthur fforde was educated at Rugby School (SH 1914–1919, Head of School) and Trinity College, Oxford. As a solicitor, he became a partner in the law firm Linklaters & Paines (now known as Linklaters) and also had helped establish the Unit trust. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1946 New Year Honours, having served as an Under-Secretary in the Treasury. In 1948 he returned to Rugby as head master, remaining until 1957, when he became Chairman of the BBC. In 1964 he retired after a spell of ill-health and was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire the same year.