Sir William James Thomas, 1st Baronet
Sir William James Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 March 1867 |
| Died | 3 January 1945 (aged 77) |
| Spouse |
Maud Cooper (m. 1917) |
| Children | 3 |
Sir William James Thomas, 1st Baronet (10 March 1867 – 3 January 1945) was a Welsh industrialist and philanthropist. He was knighted in 1914 and created a baronet on 10 May 1919, under the title Baronet Thomas of Ynyshir.[1][2][3]
Biography
The grandson of a coalowner in the
Rhondda Fach, James Thomas (died 1901), he lost both parents (Thomas and Jane Thomas) as a child, and was brought up by his grandparents.[2] He inherited his grandfather's fortune, and became a director of the Great Western Railway, Barry Docks, and numerous other industrial concerns. He married Maud Mary Cooper (died 1952) in 1917,[4]
and they had three children:
- Maureen Elizabeth Jane Thomas, who married Joseph Gerald Gaskell in 1942 and had two children
- Sir William James Cooper Thomas, 2nd Baronet (1919โ2005), who married Freida Dunbar Whyte and had three children
- Geoffrey George Mansel Thomas (1926โ1989), who married Mary Wentworth Harries and had no children
In 1914, Sir William James Thomas sold his coal interests to United National Collieries Ltd, and thereafter made substantial donations to charitable causes, particularly medical causes.Welsh National School of Medicine.[2]
References
- ^ Roll of the Baronets. Adlard & Son. 1975. p. 74.
- ^ a b c Owen Picton Davies. "Thomas, Sir William James (1867-1945), Baronet, coalowner, philanthropist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-870520-80-5.
- ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, page 3883
- ^ Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (London, England) (2000). The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society. p. 101.
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