THOMAS
,
ALFRED
,
baron Pontypridd
(
1840
-
1927
), of
Bronwydd
,
Cardiff
;
b.
16 Sept. 1840
, at
Llwyn-y-grant
,
Pen-y-lan
,
Cardiff
, son of
Daniel
Thomas
,
contractor
. He was educated at
Weston school
, near
Bath
, and spent his life in
his father's business at
Cardiff
. He was a member of the
Cardiff boro. council
for eleven years, being first elected in
1875
, was
mayor
in
1881-2
, and received the
freedom of the boro.
in
1887
. He represented the newly-formed constituency of
east Glamorgan
from
1885
until his retirement in
1910
, and was elected
chairman
of the
Welsh Parliamentary Liberal Party
in
1898
. He was also
justice of the peace
for
Cardiff
and
Glamorgan
, and
deputy-lieutenant
for
Glamorgan
. The movement to
establish a University College
at
Cardiff
in
1882
found in him a very ardent supporter, and he became a
member of the council
and subsequently its
president
. He was also the first
president
of the
National Museum of Wales
. A
Baptist
in religion, he was elected
president
of the
Welsh Baptist Union
in
1886
. He was
knighted
in
1902
, and raised to the
peerage
in
1912
. He d., unmarried,
14 Dec. 1927
.
Bibliography:
-
Who's who in Wales
,
1921
;
-
South Wales Daily News
,
15 Dec. 1927
;
-
The Daily Telegraph
,
15 Dec. 1927
;
-
Western Mail
,
25 June 1930
;
-
Seren Cymru
,
23 Dec. 1927
;
-
Seren Gomer
,
1928
, 40;
-
Adroddiad Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru.
,
1886
.
Author:
Benjamin George Owens, M.A., Aberystwyth
