Introducing the Diversity Project of the Dictionary of Welsh Biography
- The aim of the Diversity Project is to improve representation of the overall diversity of Wales’s history, with a particular focus on gender, ethnicity and renewed thinking about empire, colonialism and slavery.
The current situation
- The Dictionary of Welsh Biography (DWB) has been in need of revision for some time as a result of advances in scholarship. Changes in attitudes and the Black Lives Matter movement make our updates particularly pressing. The DWB’s Diversity Project looks at the treatment of racial issues and Wales’s part in the history of the British Empire.
- At present, the DWB contains short biographies of over 5,000 people who have made a significant contribution to society in Wales or further afield. Despite a general increase in new articles on women, gender balance remains one of our priorities. In addition, we wish to highlight gender and sexual identities. Likewise, the DWB has not always represented disabled people appropriately.
Changes to the Dictionary of Welsh Biography
- Thanks to new funding through the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, we will undertake the following work:
- Correcting and adding factual information and sources to existing articles
- Rewriting articles on sensitive topics and controversial figures, such as Thomas Picton and Henry Morton Stanley
- Writing new articles on people previously omitted
- Historically, it has taken a long time for individual articles to get published in the DWB. However, through targeted research and a series of community and writing workshops, we aim at speeding up the time it takes from identifying names to commissioning, writing and publishing new biographical articles.
- For more information about eligibility criteria for individual people or group articles, please consult our About page.
Articles already published
- Abdullah Ali Al-Hakimi (c.1900-1954)
- Sheikh Abdul-Hamid (1900-1944)
- Albert de Belleroche (1864-1944)
- Rachel Barrett (1874-1953)
- Anthony (Tony) Bianchi (1952-2017)
- Dorothy Noel 'Dorf' Bonarjee (1894-1983)
- Amos Brown (1860-1956)
- Eleanor Charlotte Butler (1739-1829)
- Rachel Elizabeth (Betty) Campbell (1934-2017)
- Iris de Freitas Brazao (1896-1989)
- Uriah 'Big Just' Burton (c.1926-1986)
- Elisabeth de Saedeleer (1902-1972)
- Jessie Donaldson (1799-1889)
- Youhannah El Karey (1843/4-1907)
- Carl Hermann Ethé (1844-1917)
- Illtud Evans (1913-1972)
- Patricia Maud (Patti) Flynn (1937-2020)
- Isabelle ('Issi') Foulkes (1970-2001)
- Isabella Gifford (c. 1825-1891)
- Alexander Givvons (1913-2002)
- Kate Bosse-Griffiths (1910-1998)
- Yehudit Anastasia (Ida) Grossman (Judith Maro) (1919-2011)
- Gwen ferch Ellis (c. 1552-1594)
- William Anderson Hall (born c. 1820)
- Sheikh Saeed Hassan Ismail (1930-2011)
- Marged vch Ifan (Margaret Evans; 1696-1801?)
- Thomas Charles Jacobson ('Tommy Twinkletoes') (1921-1973)
- Barnett Janner, Baron Janner (1892-1982)
- Eldra Mary Jarman (1917-2000)
- Justina Jeffreys (1787-1869)
- Heinz (Henry) Justus Kroch (1920-2011)
- Mervyn Montague Levy (1914-1996)
- Diederich Wessel Linden (fl.1745-1768; d.1769)
- Mahmood Hussein Mattan (1923-1952)
- Valentine Morris (1727-1789)
- Aaron Albert Mossell (1863-1951)
- Samuel Levi Phillips (originally Samuel Levi) (c.1730-1812)
- Leonora Philipps (1862-1915)
- Cesar Picton (c. 1755-1836)
- Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831)
- Dilys Margaret Price (1932-2020)
- Elizabeth 'Eliza' Pughe (1826-1847)
- Paul Radmilovic (1886-1968)
- Elizabeth (Elspeth) Rhŷs (1841-1911)
- John Roberts (Alaw Elwy, also called 'Telynor Cymru') (1816-1894)
- Paul Leroy Robeson (1898-1976)
- Bernice Rubens (1928-2004)
- Frances Batty Shand (c.1815-1885)
- Arnold Alonzo 'Kid' Sheppard (1908-1979)
- Vittorio Giorgio Andre Spinetti (1929-2012)
- Dorothy Squires (1915-1998)
- Henry Stanley (3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley and 2nd Baron Eddisbury), (1827 - 1903)
- Enrico Stennett (1926-2011)
- Clive Sullivan (1943-1985)
- Ruth Eleanor van Heyningen (1917-2019)
- Hilda Campbell Vaughan (1892-1985)
- Dame Olive Annie Wheeler (1886-1963)
- Eirene Lloyd White, Baroness White (1909-1999)
- Alice Helena Alexandra Williams (Alys Meirion) (1863-1957)
- Margaretta (Rita) Williams (1933-2018)
- Frances (Fanny) Williams (?1760-c.1801)
- Y teulu Wood (since the eighteenth century)
- John Ystumllyn (d.1786)
Articles needed
If you are interested in writing an article on anyone in this list or know of a person not yet listed but deserving an article, please contact us.
Subjects
- Activism
- Armed Forces
- Art, Design and Architecture
- Business and Industry
- Countryside and Environment
- Education
- Law
- Literature
- Medicine
- Music
- Philanthropy
- Politics
- Religion
- Scholarship
- Science
- Sport
- Theatre, film and television
- Other
Activism
- Olaoluwa 'Laolu' Abdulrahman Alatise (1995-2023)
- Mary Sophia Allen (1878–1964)
- Eileen Beasley (1921-2012) [Angharad Tomos]
- Ceridwen Brown (née Thomas) (1896-1976)
- Joyce Mary Daniel (1890–1985)
- Dr Kristnalal Datta (1865–1928)
- Rufus Elester Fennell (1887–1974)
- Dilys Lloyd Glynne Jones (1857–1932)
- Ken Jones (1930-2015)
- Angela Kwok (c.1950s-2016)
- Manikam Susheela Lourie (1941-2023) [Charlotte Williams]
- Jim Mansell (1953-2012)
- Sarah Magdalene Matthews (1846–1929)
- Dualeh Mohammed (Aftaag) (nineteenth and twentieth centuries)
- Jim Nurse (fl. 1920s-30s)
- Harry O’Connell (g. 1888) [David Featherstone]
- Emily Frost Phipps (1865–1943)
- Dr. Dipak Ray (1930-2012)
- David (Daoud) Rosser-Owen (1943-2021)
- Alan Sheppard (Twentieth century)
- Helga Uckermann (d.2023)
- Ada Vachell (1866-1923)
- Harriett Charlotte Wilson (1916–2002)
Armed Forces
- William Basil Loxdale-Jones (1890-1918)
Art, Design and Architecture
- Peter Arnold (1922-2009)
- Oldrich Asenbryl (1943-2024)
- Joan Baker (1922–2017)
- Beatrice and Annie Cummins (1856-1935; 1861-1925)
- Valerie Ganz (1936-2015)
- Arthur Giardelli (1911-2009)
- Esther Grainger (1912–1990)
- Nina Hamnett (1890-1956) [Mair Jones]
- Hubert von Herkomer (1849-1914)
- Joseff Herman (1911-2000) [Mike Hawkins]
- Edrica Huws (1907-1999)
- Eveline Annie Jenkins (1893–1976)
- Myfanwy Eileen Mair Kitchin (1917–2002)
- Frederick Könekamp (1897-1977)
- Heinz Koppel (1919-1980) [Mike Hawkins]
- Karel Lek (1929-2020) [Mike Hawkins]
- Thyrza Anne Leyshon (1892–1996)
- Mary Lloyd (1819-1896) [Mair Jones]
- Phillida Nicholson (1924-2021)
- Byddug Anwylini Pughe (1857-1939)
- Giuseppe Rinvolucri (1894-1963) [Warren Kovach]
- Valerius de Saedeleer (1867–1941)
- Maria Sax Ledger (1916-2006)
- Eirian Short (1924-2021)
- Andrew Vicari (1932-2016) [Ceri Thomas]
- Frances Williams (1798–1856)
- Muriel Wilson (1933–2018)
- Frances Elizabeth Wynne (1836-1907)
- Ernest Zobole (1927-1999)[Ceri Thomas]
Business and Industry
- Laura Ashley (1925-1985) [Nerys Fuller-Love]
- Montague Black (1917-1986)
- Ely Devons (1913-1967)
- Albert Gubay (1928-2016)
- Robert Maurice Marcel Hourmont (1925-2008)
- André Hue (1923-2005)
- Ludwig Mond (1839-1909 and Alfred Mond (1868-1930) [Mike Hawkins]
- Teulu Pollecoff (mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century) [Nathan Abrams]
- John Batty Shand (c.1804-77)
- Jacob Sugarman (Twentieth century)
- Lucy Thomas (1781-1847)
- Teulu Wartski (Since mid-nineteenth century) [Nathan Abrams]
- Caroline Elizabeth Williams (1824-1908)
Education
- Louis Barnett Abrahams (1839-1918)
- Emily Baldwin (1807–1880)
- Alice Moore Bruce (1867–1951)
- Emily Ann Carpenter (1835–1933)
- Mary Collin (1860–1955)
- The Congo House/African Institute students, Colwyn Bay (1880's-1910's) [Robert Burroughs]
- Catherine Davies (1773-c. 1841)
- Frances Emily Hughes (1855–1927)
- William Hughes (1856-1924) [Marian Gwyn]
- Benjamin Pearce Jones (1860-1936) [Alison Bryant]
- Ravinand Mooneram (1932-2002) [Perminder Dhillon]
- Benjamin Payne (1847-1926) and Florence Payne (d. 1921) [Alison Bryant]
- Charles Rhind (1813-1888) [Alison Bryant]
Countryside and Environment
- Dinah Williams (1911-2009)
Law
- Ruth Ellis (1925-1955)
- Henry Joseph (Harry) Ernest (1929-2023)
- David Freeman (1928-2015)
Literature
- Dannie Abse (1923-2014) [Katherine Fender]
- Anna Maria Bennett (17??-1808) [Mary Chadwick]
- Leonora Brito (1954-2007)
- Rhoda Broughton (1840-1920) [Sara Fox]
- Elizabeth Casson (1881–1954)
- Jane Cave (1754?-1812)
- Elin Evans (Elen Egryn) (1807-1876)
- Anne Griffith (1734–1821)
- Barbara Gladys Hardy (1924–2016)
- Gwenno Hywyn (1949–1991)
- Hyman Kaner (1896-1973)
- Martha Llwyd (1766-1845)
- Dorothy Miles (née Squire) (1931-1993) [Sarah Wheeler]
- Jan Morris (1926-2020) [Mike Parker]
- Solomon Nutry (c.1791-1854)
- Katherine Philips (1632–1664) [Norena Shopland]
- Emma Thomas (Marie Trevelyan) (1853-1922)
- Lily Tobias (1887-1984) [Jasmine Donahaye]
- Peggy Eileen Whistler (Margiad Evans, 1909-1958) [Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan]
Medicine
- Hans Lichtenstein (1927-2019)
- Jean Kennedy McFarlane (1926-2012)
- Montague Duncan Makuna (1853–1913)
- Kunnathur Rajan (19??-2021)
- Joseph Stone (born Silverstone) (1903-1986)
Music
- Ronald Cass (1923-2006)
- Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) [Tayo Aluko]
- Mahala Davis (Twentieth century)
- Clare Deniz (1911-2002)
- Francisco (Frank) Antonio Deniz (1912-2005)
- José (Joe) William Deniz (1913-1994)
- Laurence (Laurie) Richard Deniz (1924-1996)
- Gene Latter (Arthur Ford) (19??-2004)
- Henry Victor Parker (Saunders) (1910-1978)
- Adelina Patti (1843-1919) [John Davies]
- Reuben France Roberts (1855-1947)
- Harold Rubens (1918-2010)
- Ian Stoutzker (1929-2024)
Philanthropy
- Emily Jane Pfeiffer (1827–1890)
- Fanny Price-Gwynne (1819-1901)
- Fanny Talbot (1824–1917)
Politics
- Leopold Abse (1917-2008)
- Elizabeth Andrews (1882-1960) [Emma Major]
- Mohammad Asghar (1945-2020) [Matthew W. Day]
- Mohamed Hanef Bhamjee (1946-2022)
- Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (1930–2008)
- Maurice Edelman (1911-1975)
- Abdulrahim Abby Farah (1919-2018) [Azim Ahmed]
- John Darwin Hinds (19??-1981) [Azim Ahmed]
- Glenys Kinnock (1944-2023)
- Mavis Llewellyn (1908–1978)
- Elvira Gwenllian Payne (nee Hinds) (1917-2007) [Mair Jones]
- Arnold Silverstone (Baron Ashdown) (1911-1977)
- Stefan Terlezski (1927-2006) [Matthew W. Day]
Religion
- Emilia Louise Baeyertz (née Aronson) (1842-1926)
- Rev. Rai Bhajur (c.1870s-19??)
- Isaac Cohen (1914-2007)
- Myer Cohen (1905-1997)
- Shoshir Mukhi Das (1868-1921) [Rita Singer]
- Rosina Davies (1863-1949) [Gareth Bassett]
- Evan Jones (1788-1872) [Robert Humphries]
- Thomas Patrick Kane (1849-1918)
- Rabbi Asher Grunis (1877-1937)
- Peter Jones (Kahkewāquonāby) (1802-1856) [Brian Gettler]
- U Larsing (1838-1863) [D. Ben Rees]
- Robert Owen Pugh (Istachtonka) (1846-1922) [Robert Humphries]
- David Michael (Eighteenth century)
- Pamela Shepherd (Mother Shepherd) (1836–1930)
- Anirudh Gyan Shikha (Anwar Shaikh; born Hajji Muhammad Shaikh) (1928-2006)
- Guru Sri Subramanium (1929-2009)
- Iris Thomas (1919-2012)
Scholarship
- Merryl Wyn Davies (1948-2021)
- StClair Drake (1911-1990)
- Montefiore Follick (1887-1958)
- Raymond Garlick (1926-2011) [Jason Walford Davies]
- Leopold Kohr (1909-1994)
- Neil Sinclair (1944-2019)
- Gwyneth Tyson Roberts (1943-2022) [Jane Aaron]
- Margaret Maria Verney (1844–1930)
Science
- Samuel Devons (1914-2006)
- The Massey Sisters (nineteenth and twentieth centuries)
- Dorothea Eliza Smith (1804-1864)
- Caroline Catharine Wilkinson (née Lucas) (1822-1881)
Sport
- Thomas (Tommy) Hubert Best (1920-2018)
- Cyril George Cupid (1908-1965) [Barry Jenkins]
- Colin Dixon (1943-1993)
- James Ernest (1891-1980)
- Joe Erskine (1934-1990)
- Roy Francis (1919-1989) [Peter Alexander]
- Johnny Freeman (1934-2017)
- Christopher (Chris) Alexander Hallam, MBE (1962-2013)
- David Henry Jacobs (1888-1976)
- Jenny Eileen James (1927-2014)
- Eddie Parris (1911-1971)
- Howard Passadoro (1871-1921)
- Guido Roffi (1924-1973)
- Cuthbert Taylor (1909-1977)
Theatre, film and television
- Michael Bogdanov (1938-2017)
- Eleanor Bufton (1842-1893)
- Annabel Giles (1959-2023)
- Carol Byrne Jones (19??-2023)
- Nicola Heywood-Thomas (1955-2023)
- Roger Rees (1944-2015)
- Rachel Roberts (1927-1980)
Other
- Mary Carryl (d. 1809) [Norena Shopland]
- Mary Dillwyn (1816–1906)
- Gwladus Ddu (thirteenth century)
- John Harris (Teilwr Bach Dihewyd; 1815-1893)
- Elizabeth Peke Davis Kaumualii (1803-1860)
- Jane Leonard (Siani pob man) (1834-1917) [Peter Stevenson]
- William Basil Loxdale-Jones (c.1890-1918)
- James (Jim) Sapoe John Mannay (1928-2012) [Rebecca Eversley-Dawes]
- Thomas Rigby (c.1780s-1841)
- Giuseppi Ruggier (alt. Guzzepi Ruggier, Joe Rogers) (nineteenth century) [Raymond Agius]
- Caitlin Thomas (1913–1994)
- Ellen Vaughan (Ellen Gethin; Ellen ferch Dafydd ap Cadwgan ap Phylip Dorddu) (fifteenth century)
- Nathaniel Wells (1779-1852) [Anne Rainsbury]