The Greatest Welshman of all time
Historic UK is happy to announce our first poll of 2013 where we are asking you – our dear readers – for who you think is the greatest Welshman of all time.
Originally we started with a shortlist of over 20 candidates, but after some protracted and heated discussions in the Historic UK offices we’ve managed to whittle the choices down to just nine. These are:
• Owain Glyndwr – Prince of Wales and medieval Welsh nationalist leader
• Aneurin Bevan – Spearheaded the establishment of the NHS.
• St. Patrick – The patron saint of Ireland, but thought to have been a Welshman!
• Llywelyn the Last – The last prince of an independent Wales.
• Lloyd George – Prime Minister of Britain and founder of the welfare state.
• Richard Burton – The famous actor, nominated for seven Academy Awards
• Dylan Thomas – Poet and author of Under Milk Wood.
• J.P.R. Williams – One of the greatest ever Rugby Union fullbacks.
• Henry VII – Also known as Henry Tudor, the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
The Results
After three months of voting, and with an overwhelming 30.43% of the ballot, you have selected Owain Glyndwr as the greatest Welshman in history! Perhaps best known for leading a fierce revolt against English rule in Wales, Owain Glyndwr was also the last native Welshman to hold the title of Prince of Wales. For more about the life of Owain Glyndwr, click here to read our article.
Compared with Other Polls
In 2003, Culturenet Cymru ran a similar poll aiming to determine the 100 Greatest Welsh Heroes in History. Although there was a great deal of controversy surrounding this poll (a former employee even alleged that the poll had been rigged!), for the sake of comprehensiveness we have compared the results with our own ballot below.
| Name | Historic UK Poll (2013) | Culturenet Poll (2003) |
| Owain Glyndwr | 1 | 2 |
| Henry Tudor | 2 | 53 |
| Aneurin Bevan | 3 | 1 |
| St Patrick | 4 | N/A |
| Llywelyn the Last | 5 | 21 |
| Lloyd George | 6 | 8 |
| Dylan Thomas | 7 | 7 |
| Richard Burton | 8 | 5 |
| J.P.R. Williams | 9 | 24 |
For the full results from the Culturenet poll, please click here.