Doctors and natural scientists
William Grove (1811-1896)
natural scientist, lawyer. Sir William Robert Grove was born in Swansea in 1811 and studied at Oxford. He became one of the two great discoverers of the fuel cell (together with CF Schönbein), which is an energy converter and was popular as a battery with telegraphs. In London he worked as a professor of experimental philosophy and later as a judge. Grove was a member of the Royal Society (from 1864) and has received several awards. He died in London in 1896.
Rulers, politicians and legendary figures
Llywelyn I the Great (1173-1240)
He was the prince or king of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, one of the four kingdoms in Wales that came into being after the departure of the Romans in the 5th century. He ruled large parts of Wales for almost 40 years
Llywelyn the Last (1223-1282)
He was the last ruler of an independent Wales, which was conquered and subjugated by the English King Edward (Edward) I (1239-1307) in 1282. since 1283 he was also Prince of Wales. The son of Queen Elizabeth II – Prince Charles, for example, also bears this title.
King Arthur
Arthur is a mythical British king who is said to have fought against the invading Angles and Saxons around 500 AD. Legend continues that Arthur killed a giant named Rhitta on Mount Snowdon and fought another violent battle nearby at Bwlch y Saethau. Even today it is believed that he and his knights sleep in a cave in the cliffs below Chepstow Castle. And the Holy Grail is said to be in Castell Dinas Bran on the mountainside above Llangollen. The legends about King Arthur were presented by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 1135 work “Historia Regum Britanniae”.
Merlin
Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen) is believed to be the birthplace of Merlin, and so the place was named after him. Further north, in the caves under the ruins of Dinefwr Castle, Merlin is said to have communicated with the fairies. The magician Merlin is considered the teacher of King Arthur.
Athletes
Ivor John Allchurch (1929-1997)
football player. He was best known for his appearances in the Welsh national team at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. In his homeland he was known as the “Golden Boy” of Welsh football.
Gareth Frank Bale (1989 in Cardiff)
professional footballer. At the age of 16, he was the youngest Welsh international ever to play against the Trinidad team
Wallace “Walley” Barnes (1920-1975)
football player and presenter. Barnes played a total of 22 times for the Welsh national football team. After the end of his career as a footballer, he became a TV presenter for the BBC, which he continued until his death.
Dave Bowen (1928-1995)
Bowen was a member of the Welsh national team 18 times. After the end of his playing days as a footballer, he was coach of the Welsh national football team from 1964. After finishing his time as a coach, he became a journalist. The North Stand of Northampton Town Stadium bears his name in his honor.
William John Charles (1931- 2004)
The football player Charles played a total of 38 times for the Welsh national team from 1950 to 1965.
Because of his great fairness – he had never seen a yellow or red card like this – he still enjoys a great reputation today.
James Collins (born 1983 in Newport)
The football player Collins In 2005 he was voted “Welsh Young Player of the Year”.
By June 2009, he played 24 games for the national team of Wales
Steve Jones (born 1955)
Jones set a new world record in marathon running at the Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:08:05. In 1985 he won the London Marathon in a time of 2:08:16. he won again in 1985 in Chicago and with 2:07:13 was only one second above the new world record set by Carlos Lopes at the Rotterdam Marathon in 1985.
In 1988 he won the New York City Marathon.
Johnny (John Richard) Owen (1956-1980)
bantamweight boxer. The multiple professional boxing champion of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and European champion is one of the most successful Welsh boxers to date. He died as a result of his first world championship fight against Lupe Pintor in 1980.
Luke Rowe (1990 in Cardiff)
track and road cyclist and the younger brother of Matthew Rowe. In 2007 he was European track cycling champion in Cottbus/Germany in the team pursuit of the junior class. In 2008 he won the silver medal in the individual and team pursuit at the European Junior Track Cycling Championships in Pruszkow/Poland. In the Madison (= two-man team driving) he won the gold medal together with the Briton Mark Christian. On the road, he won silver in the road race of the European Junior Championship in Verbania in the Piedmont/Italy region.
Matthew Rowe (1988 in Cardiff)
track and road cyclist and the older brother of Luke Rowe.
Matthew Rowe was European track cycling champion in 2005 in Fiorenzuola in the junior class scratch. At the British Track Cycling Championships in Manchester, he finished second in the team pursuit.
Other people
Laura Ashley (1925-1985)
Eminent designer, especially of headscarves in the Victorian style.
Sir George Everest (1790)
The engineer and surveyor was in charge of surveying India from 1823 to 1843. A year after his death, Mount Everest was named after him.
Captain Sir Henry Morgan
privateer on behalf of the King of England and Governor of Jamaica.
