![Edwards 284](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Edwards_284.jpg)
Sir Owen Morgan Edwards (26 December 1858 – 15 May 1920) was a
Welsh historian, educationalist and writer. He is often known as O. M. Edwards.
Biography
Owen Edwards was born in
Llanuwchllyn near
Bala, the eldest son of Owen and Beti Edwards. He gives a vivid description of his early education in his autobiography ''Clych Adgof'' ("Bells of Remembrance") published in 1906. Llanuwchllyn was then and remains a strongly
Welsh-speaking area, but the
Welsh Not
The Welsh Not was a token used by teachers at some schools in Wales in the 19th century to discourage children from speaking Welsh at school, by marking out those who were heard speaking the language. Accounts suggest that its form and the natu ...
was in use at the local school and usually found itself round Owen's neck, as a punishment for speaking Welsh.
After studying at Bala and
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
, mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all
, established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'')
, former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth
, type = Public
, endowment = ...
, graduating with a pass degree in 1883.
[Gareth Elwyn Jones: ''Edwards, Sir Owen Morgan (1858–1920)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2007, accessed 30 Oct 2012](_blank)
/ref> He then spent a year at the University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
studying philosophy before studying at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1884 to 1887, winning all the university's three main prizes for history. The 1891 census for Wales recorded that he was at home with his family in Coed y Pry, Llanuwchllyn on census night, and his occupation was 'school teacher of history.' He came under the influence of the Dafydd ap Gwilym Society
The Dafydd ap Gwilym Society is the Welsh society at the University of Oxford. It is a Welsh language society, as opposed to a society of Welsh people like its sister-society in Cambridge, the .
History
The society was established in 1886, mak ...
at Oxford, establishing friendships with other students who later became prominent in Welsh life such as John Morris-Jones
Sir John Morris-Jones (17 October 1864 – 16 April 1929) was a Welsh grammarian, academic and Welsh-language poet.
Morris-Jones was born John Jones, at Trefor in the parish of Llandrygarn, Anglesey the son of Morris Jones first a schoolmaster ...
and becoming a strong cultural nationalist. He then spent a year on the continent before returning to Oxford, where he was appointed a Fellow of Lincoln College and became tutor in history there and at other colleges. He remained in this position until 1907.
In 1907 he was appointed as the first Chief Inspector of Schools for Wales under the recently established Welsh Education Department. He took the first steps towards ensuring that the Welsh language was taught in the schools of Wales. He came into conflict with the Central Welsh Board because of his conviction that the new intermediate schools were anglicising influences in Wales and his determination to resist this.
He was also a prolific writer, starting and editing the periodical ''Cymru'' in 1891 and ''Cymru'r Plant'' for children in 1892, intended to arouse interest among the people of Wales in their own language and history. An English-language version of ''Cymru'', ''Wales'' (1901), was less successful, although it is seen as "his major work". He wrote a number of books on Welsh history, notably ''Cartrefi Cymru'' ("Welsh Homes") which describes visits to the homes of a number of important historical figures, and published the works of other writers in a series of Welsh classics ''Cyfres y Fil'' ("The Series of a Thousand" - in 37 volumes, so-called because the author sought 1,000 subscribers, through the periodical ''Cymru'').
Edwards was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for Merionethshire
, HQ= Dolgellau
, Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start= 1284
, End=
, Code= MER
, CodeName= ...
following the premature death of T. E. Ellis MP in April 1899. He did not enjoy parliamentary life and did not seek re-election in 1900. He was knighted in 1916 and awarded the degree of D.Litt. by the University of Wales
, latin_name =
, image =
, caption = Coat of Arms
, motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd
, mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth
, established =
,
, type = Confederal, non-member ...
in 1918. Edwards died at Llanuwchllyn in 1920, his wife Ellen having died the previous year. His first son died at the age of five. His second son, Ifan ab Owen Edwards
Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards (25 July 1895 – 23 January 1970) was a Welsh academic, writer and film-maker, best known as the founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh League of Youth.
He was born at Tremaran, Llanuwchllyn, Merionethshire, the ...
, founded Urdd Gobaith Cymru
Urdd Gobaith Cymru () (known as the Urdd) is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25 years old. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part ...
("The Welsh League of Youth"). His only daughter Hâf married Sir David Hughes Parry.
Bibliography
Books
*''Clych Adgof'' (1906). Reminiscences of the Bala area.
*''O'r Bala i Geneva'' (1889). Travel.
*''Ystraeon o Hanes Cymru'' (1894). Tales from Welsh history.
*''Hanes Cymru'' (1895, 1899). History of Wales.
*''Cartrefi Cymru'' (1896). Famous Welsh homes.
''Wales''
(1901) (T. Fisher Unwin)
*''A Short History of Wales'' (1906)
*''Llyfr Del'' (1906). For children.
*''Hwiangerddi'' (1911). For children.
*''Llyfr Nest'' (1913). For children.
*''Tro yn Llydaw''. Travels in Brittany.
*''Tro yn y Wlad'' (1920). Welsh travel sketches.
Critical Studies
*W.J. Gruffydd, ''Owen Morgan Edwards'' (Aberystwyth, 1937)
*Gwilym Arthur Jones, ''Bywyd a Gwaith Owen Morgan Edwards'' (1958)
*Meic Stephens (ed.) ''Companion to Welsh literature'' (University of Wales Press)
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
O. M. Edwards Papers
at the National Library of Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Owen Morgan
1858 births
1920 deaths
People from Gwynedd
Welsh non-fiction writers
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
UK MPs 1895–1900
20th-century Welsh historians
Welsh schoolteachers
Alumni of Aberystwyth University
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford
Knights Bachelor
19th-century Welsh historians