Arnold Hague was born on December 3, 1840, in Boston, Massachusetts.

He was an American geologist. In 1863, he received his degree in chemistry from Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School and continued his studies in Göttingen, Heidelberg, and Freiberg in Saxony. In 1866, he returned to the United States and was appointed assistant geologist on the U. S. Geological Exploration of the 40th parallel under Clarence King. Between 1867 and 1872, they systematically and comprehensively mapped and assessed the topography, geology, and natural resources of 87,000 square miles of western lands flanking the transcontinental railroad. They completed fieldwork in 1872 and prepared their folio atlas and the final reports as parts of the Engineer Department Professional Paper 18. In 1877, Hague received the appointment of government geologist of Guatemala and in 1878, he was engaged by the Chinese government to examine gold, silver, and lead mines in northern China. He became a geologist of the U. S. Geological Survey in 1879 and in 1883, he was made geologist of the Yellowstone National Park, assigned to the study of the geysers. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1885. He received an honorary Sc.D. degree from Columbia University in 1901, and an LL.D. degree from Aberdeen University. He was vice president of the International Congresses of Geologists held in Paris in 1900, in Stockholm in 1910, and in Toronto in 1913. He became president of the Geological Society of America in 1910.

In 1893, he married Mary Anne Bruce (Robins) Howe (1850- ). He died on May 14, 1917, in Washington, D.C.