Famous Welsh Intellectuals & Academics

Bertrand Russell was a British polymath and Nobel laureate. His work, which is spread across various fields, has had a considerable influence on philosophy, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, linguistics, and logic. Russell is also credited with leading the revolt against idealism in Britain and is regarded as one of the founders of analytic philosophy.

Apart from co-establishing the Social Democratic Party, British politician David Owen has previously also been a practicing physician. His many important posts include that of the foreign affairs secretary of state. He has also been part of major nuclear disarmament groups and has headed the Liverpool University as its chancellor.

English Puritan minister John Owen was a strong advocate of Congregationalism and a close associate of Oliver Cromwell. He also served as the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. A proponent of Calvinism, or Reformed Theology, he also penned works on theological history and other religious topics.

Welsh historian Gerald of Wales had also served as the archdeacon of Brecon. His written works provide a glimpse into the life and times of the late 12th century. As a royal clerk and chaplain of English king Henry II, he accompanied him on journeys that inspired many of his books.

British moral-philosopher Richard Price is best-remembered for significantly editing Bayes–Price theorem. He edited An Essay towards solving a Problem in the Doctrine of Chances, a major-work of his deceased friend Thomas Bayes. It appeared in Philosophical Transactions and included Bayes' Theorem. His work on legacy of Bayes, led Price to get elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Anglo-Welsh metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan was a major literary figure of the Commonwealth period and is best remembered for Silex Scintillans. While he initially studied law, the Civil War disrupted his studies and he was called back home to serve Sir Marmaduke Lloyd. He was also a practicing physician.

Welsh psychoanalyst Ernest Jones was one of the most significant figures behind the development of psychoanalysis as a profession in Britain. He was instrumental in building the American Psychoanalytic Association and was the president of the International Psychoanalytical Association. A close associate of Sigmund Freud, he also penned a 3-volume biography of Freud.

Welsh management consultant Dave Snowden is known for his research on knowledge management and for inventing the decision-making framework known as the Cynefin framework. He has also established the Singapore-based management consulting firm Cognitive Edge and is a pioneering figure in complexity science and sensemaking.

Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant is remembered for his extensive research on zoology, especially ornithology. Known for his books such as British Zoology and History of Quadrupeds, he traveled to Scotland and remote parts of Britain, writing about his expeditions in his travelogues and treatises.

Best known for his 4-volume Epistolae Ho-Elianae, James Howell had been a British historiographer royal, a post specifically made for him during the Restoration era. His works, however, are mostly plagiarized and historically inaccurate. He was also imprisoned for a few years, probably due to debts or his political criticism.

James Beattie was a Scottish philosopher, moralist, educator, and poet. His philosophical writings and poetry, which opposed slavery, are widely viewed as the primary source of Immanuel Kant's knowledge of David Hume. James Beattie, who was among the members that established the Royal Society of Edinburgh, is one of the 16 personalities depicted on the famous Scott Monument.

Ronald Mathias Lockley was a Welsh naturalist and ornithologist. He is credited with writing more than 50 books, which include a detailed study of shearwaters. He is best remembered for his 1964 book The Private Life of the Rabbit, which inspired Richard Adams' 1972 children's book Watership Down. Ronald Mathias Lockley also made immense contributions to magazines like The Countryman.

Welsh academic John Morris-Jones was closely associated with the faculty of what is now known as Bangor University. Initially a student of math, he switched his focus to Welsh language and literature later. His efforts at infusing classical standards into Welsh poetry got him knighted later.

Welsh physician and grammarian Siôn Dafydd Rhys penned the first Welsh grammar in Latin. Initially a doctor in Cardiff, he also wrote extensively on bardic poetry. He also wrote a long history of Britain. However, his works have been criticizing for forcibly trying to mingle Welsh language and Latin grammar.