William John Gruffydd
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Professor William John Gruffydd (February 14, 1881 – September 29, 1954) was a Welsh academic, poet, writer, and politician. He was born in Caernarfonshire and went to Caernarfon School followed by Jesus College, Oxford. During the First World War he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Gruffydd specialised in Celtic culture and worked at University College, Cardiff from 1906; from 1918 until 1946 he was Professor of Celtic. He was President of Council of the National Eisteddfod of Wales and edited Y Llenor ('The Littérateur', a highly influential Welsh language journal of literature published by the university).
Gruffydd was a member of Plaid Cymru and served as deputy vice-president in 1937. However, Gruffydd voiced dissagreement with Plaid Cymru party president Saunders Lewis, and eventually leading to his leaving the party[1].
Gruffydd was elected to Parliament as a Liberal for the University of Wales seat on January 29, 1943 after the sitting MP Ernest Evans became a County Court Judge. Gruffydd had overcome Lewis' candidacy in the elections, and had effectially split the Welsh-speaking community[2]. He was comfortably re-elected in the 1945 general election and sat until the abolition of University seats in 1950. He did not stand again for Parliament.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ernest Evans |
Member of Parliament for University of Wales 1943–1950 |
Succeeded by (constituency abolished) |
