David Burton "Dai" Smith (born 1945) is a Welsh academic,

cultural historian Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

, author, and former

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

programme editor and broadcaster. He was chair of the

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

between 2007 and 2016. Smith was born in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...

. He was educated at Porth County and

Barry Grammar School Barry Comprehensive School ( cy, Ysgol Gyfun y Barri) was a secondary school for boys aged 11–16, situated opposite Highlight Park in the town of Barry, in Wales. Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School was the partner girls' school that also provi ...

, before studying history and literature at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, and later undertook further studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and the

University of Wales, Swansea , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

. Between 1969 and 1993, he was a lecturer in history in the universities of Lancaster, Swansea, and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. "Professor Dai Smith reappointed as Arts Council of Wales Chair", ''Aberdare Online'', 18 August 2009
Retrieved 28 July 2016 He was appointed as Professor in the History of Wales at the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

in Cardiff in 1985, holding the post until 1992. He has also held visiting lectureships at universities in Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland and Spain. In 1993, he joined the BBC as editor of Radio Wales, and in 1994 was appointed as Head of Broadcast (English Language). He was responsible for commissioning programmes on the arts and in drama, and has also presented award-winning documentaries on the people and culture of

south Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. In 2000, Smith was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

, where he was responsible for developing the university's contributions to the community. He left the post in 2005 to become the Raymond Williams Chair in the Cultural History of Wales at Swansea University.Professor Dai Smith, ''Swansea University''
. Retrieved 28 July 2016 In 2007, he was appointed Chair of the Arts Council of Wales, a post to which he was reappointed twice and held until 2016."Professor Dai Smith", ''University of South Wales: Honorary Awards 2009''
. Retrieved 28 July 2016 His publications have included ''The Fed'' (1980), a history of

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

miners written with

Hywel Francis David Hywel Francis (6 June 1946 – 14 February 2021) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberavon from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he chaired the Welsh Affairs Committee from 2005 to 2010 and ...

; ''Fields of Praise'' (1986), a history of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

in Wales co-authored with Gareth Williams; ''Wales: A Question for History'' (1988); ''

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health ...

and the World of South Wales'' (1993); the authorised biography ''

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

: A Warrior’s Tale'' (2008); and ''In the Frame: Memory in Society 1910-2010'' (2010). He has also edited the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

’s Library of Wales for classic works written in English from or about Wales. His son is

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

, MP. Smith was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to culture and the arts in Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dai, (academic) 1945 births Living people People from Rhondda Academics of Swansea University Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Barry Comprehensive School Columbia University alumni Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Welsh historians Historians of Wales Date of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Welsh historians