Taffy (l953-l980): a Welsh collie that held the record for Europe’s oldest dog.

Taffy: name of the mascot of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, a Kashmiri billy goat.

Taliesin (6th Century): a poet of Strathclyde, part of the Old North (now Western Scotland) mentioned by Nennius. His poetry was collected in the l4th century Book of Taliesin. Praising Urien Rheged's success in defeating the Germanic invaders, it survives as the oldest in the Welsh language.

Tann, Hilary (b. 1947): accomplished composer, born South Wales Chair of the Dept of Performing Arts at Union College, Schenectady, New York, she has composed for many internationally-famed orchestras, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic for the last night of the Welsh Proms at Cardiff.

Tanner, Phil (The Gower Nightingale), l862-l950): considered the greatest of all the English speaking folk performers of Wales. His vast repertoire of Gower songs and dances are being re-discovered by modern performers and recommitted to recordings.

Taylor, Alison: from an Anglesey family, novelist and journalist with a career in probation and social work recognized for her work in child care and ethics. She received Arts Council of Wales Disabled Writers’ Award in l994; has novels published in many countries.

Teilo, St. (6th Century): influential church leader, contemporary of St. David; founder of Llandeilo Fawr, who became venerated in Wales and Brittany.

Terfel, Bryn (Bryn Jones b. l965): internationally acclaimed opera star from Pwllglas, Snowdonia; after early successes in local eisteddfodau, he studied at London's Guildhall School of Music, debuted as baritone with the Welsh National Opera Company in l990. With a voice and command of his art compared to that of Fischer-Dieskau in his prime after appearing at Salzburg in l992, he is in demand at the world’s leading opera houses as well as concert halls and sporting venues in his native Wales.

Teulu Abram Wood: (see Wood family).

Tewdrig (6 th C.): prince mortally wounded leading the people of Glamorgan against Saxon invasers.

Tilsley, Gwilym Richard (Tilsli, 1911-1997): Archdruid of Wales; Chair-winning poet whose popular verses deal with the plight of Welsh industrial workers.

Tolkien, Royd (b. l969): from Sychdyn, near Mold, Flintshre, a cast member of the film Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. And grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien

Trefor, Sion (d. l4l0): Bishop of St. Asaph, partner in the deposition of Richard ll; a staunch supporter of Owain Glyndwr whose cause he unsuccessfully represented in Parliament.

Tripp, John (b. l927): journalist and poet, former literary editor of Planet, whose subject has mainly been the history of modern Wales.

Tristan and Iseult: the doomed lovers of the medieval romances linked to the Arthurian cycle

Tudful, St. (6th Century): daughter of Brychan, she was killed by Saxons; commemorated at Merthyr Tydfil, where she had founded a church.

Tudor (Tudur): a prominent Anglesey family, centered at Penmynydd, one of whom, Owain, married Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V, thus beginning the royal dynasty that began with the reign of Henry Vl in l485.

Tudor Aled (l465-l525): from Llansannan, a master craftsman, a poet of the Gentry, and a valuable source for the history of leading Welsh families.

Twm Siôn Cati (Jones, Thomas, l530-l609): character pardoned by Elizabeth lst for his misdemeanors. His exploits, real or otherwise, were made famous through a novel, The Adventures and Vagaries of Twm Sion Cati (l828), and through George Borrow's Wild Wales (l862).

Tyler, Bonnie (Gaynor Hopkins, b. l953): b. Skewen, Swansea, Bonnie sang began a recording career in l975 following surgery that left her voice husky. She has won platinum and gold records, touring Europe in sell-out concerts.

Tylwyth Teg (fairy folk): the name first appeared in a l5th century poem. Particularly active at night or around lakes and bogs, they appear in many folk tales. Also known as Mamau (mothers).

Tysilio, St. (7th century): son of a Prince of Powys, founder of the church at Llandysilio.

Thomas, Alan (b. l936): director of music in various schools in Britain, active with the National Youth Orchestra of Wales; moved to Canada in l974; Director of Music at Ashbury College, Ottowa; conductor of the Parkdale Symphony and a celebrated organ accompanist.

Thomas, Dafydd Elis (b. 1946): Carmarthen born, after early career as lecturer, writer and broadcaster, elected for Plaid, Meirionydd Nant Conwy in 1993.

Thomas, David (Dafydd Ddu Eryri, l759-l822): Black David of Snowdon, poet who established literary societies, teaching the traditional meters.

Thomas, David (Dai y Stiward, l794-l882): Neath-born David emigrated with his family from Ystradgynlais in 1839, setting up blast furnaces at Allentown, Pennsylvania, utilizing the hot blast to smelt iron ore with anthracite (a process he had used at Ynyscedwyn Iron Works). Within ten years of his arrival, the Lehigh Valley had become the world's leading iron producer. His story is told in From Wales to Pennsylvania (Red Dragon Press).

Thomas, David Alfred (1856-1918): the first Viscount Rhondda; a wealthy coal owner and Liberal MP for Merthyr Tydfil; controller of British food production during W.W.l.

Thomas, Dylan (l9l4-l953): a major lyric poet profoundly influenced by his native Wales, though he wrote in English. His three volumes of poetry, published before the Second World War, were followed by Deaths and Entrances (l946), by which time his reputation as a great literary craftsman had been well established. A wonderful evocation of childhood on a Welsh farm is "Fern Hill." He died in New York.

Thomas, Ebenezer (Eben Fardd, l802-63): poet and critic whose school at Clynnog Fawr trained candidates for the ministry and whose work has been praised as heralding the golden age of the epic in Wales.

Thomas, Edward (l878-l9l7): London-born poet to Welsh parents; preferred to call himself Welsh. His major theme was the loss of innocence in the heady rush of "progress." In l905, he published Beautiful Wales. Much of his poetry was published after his death as a soldier in the First World War; it influenced later poets, especially Dylan Thomas.

Thomas, Edward Morley (Ned Thomas, b. l936): writer and editor; taught Welsh literature at Aberystwyth in l970. Published The Welsh Extremist in l97l, a year after he had helped found Planet. Ned’s most ambitious project is to found a Welsh-language newspaper, Y Byd (The World) to begin in 2005.

Thomas, Ernest Lewis (Richard Vaughan, l904-83): b. Llanddeusant, Carms; novelist and journalist who wrote of the farming communites of his region.

Thomas, Gareth (b. l974) from Bridgend, rugby player with 777 appearances for Wales, in July 2004 he beat Ieuan Evan’s record by scoring his 34th try.

Thomas, George, Viscount Tonypandy (l909-l997): miner's son, Port Talbot, known to millions of radio listeners for his role as the Speaker of the House of Commons from February l976 to June, l983. Entered Parliament in l945, as Labour M.P. for Cardiff Central; succeeded Cledwyn Hughes as Secretary of State for Wales in l968. One of the old school of Welsh Labour politicians, fiercely antagonistic to any ideas of Welsh independence, he vigorously opposed the creation of a National Assembly for Wales.

Thomas, Gwyn (l9l3-l98l): Rhonda-born socialist novelist and dramatist whose characters desperately and often hilariously survive in the harshest of conditions. The author was an uncompromising critic of the Welsh language and those who wrote in it.

Thomas, Gwyn (b. l936): scholar, poet and dramatist who specialized in the work of Ellis Wynne and the earliest Welsh poetry. His many volumes of poetry have made him one of the most widely read of modern Welsh language poets.

Thomas, Helen Wynne (1966-89): from Newcastle Emlyn, a member of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp in late summer, 1981, protesting Britain’s policies on nuclear armament, she was killed by a police horse box.

Thomas, Hugh Owen (1833-91): from Anglesey, a leading specialist in orthopedic surgery at Liverpool who created many modern medical appliances.

Thomas, Islyn (d. 2002): b. Maesteg; came to the US at age eleven. As the founder of the Thomas Manufacturing Company and Thomas International, his contribution of parts for the Rolls Royce aircraft engines brought him the OBE from Queen Elizabeth. He was a founder member of N.W.A.F. and the author of Our Welsh Heritage.

Thomas, Jennie (l898-l979): author who introduced the popular animal characters Sion Blewyn Coch and Wil Cwac Cwac to Welsh children in her Llyfr Mawr y Plant (Big Book for Children) 1931.

Thomas, John (Ieuan Ddu: Black John, l795-187l): b. Carmarthenshire; patriotic musician, poet and influential choir director and singer who published his collection of tunes, Y Caniedydd Cymreig (Welsh Song Book), 1845.

Thomas, John (l795-l87l): from Bridgend; Pencerdd Gwalia (Chief Musician of Wales), harpist to Queen Victoria; an instructor at the Royal College and the Guildhall School of Music, his work is collected as Welsh Melodies (l862-l874).

Thomas, John (l886-l933): b. Flint, raised in Harlech, he left the Nobel explosives factory in Scotland to become chief chemist at Solway Dyes Company, pioneering in research and edevelopment of dyes; later became Director of the Dyes Division of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).

Thomas, John (Eifionydd, l848-l922): editor Y Geninen (The Leek, l883-l922), valuable for information about Welsh cultural life.

Thomas, Sir John Meurig (b. l932): b. Gwendraeth Valley, Carms. Professor of chemistry at the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory, The Royal Institution of Great Britain whicn he directed l985-l99l; head of chemistry at Aberystwyth, later King’s College, Cambridge. For his contributions to catalysis, solid state chemistry of materials and surface science, he has been given numerous honours, including the Davy Medal, the Rutherford Lectureship of the Royal Society, the Messel Gold Medal of the Society of the Chemical Industry and so on. He is a Fellow of many internationally recognized societies, including the Royal Society and an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, and the U.K. Institute of Physics. A member of the Gorsedd, Dr. Thomas has written many influential science texts.

Thomas, Lucy (l78l-l847): "the Mam" of the Welsh coal industry, remembered for opening the first level at Waunwyllt colliery, near Merthyr, for the mining of coal for household use.

Thomas, Mansel (l909-l986): one of the most influential musicians of his generation, famous as a composer, conductor and adjudicator. For many years, he was the BBC’s principal music representative for Wales; he wrote a large and varied range of music, vocal, choral, and instrumental. He won the Rhondda Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age l6, joined the BBC in l936, eventually becoming the principal conductor of the BBC Welsh Orchestra. He retired in l965 to devote himself to composition.

Thomas, Margaret Haig, Viscountess Rhondda (1883-1953): early suffragette kept out of the House of Lords on legal grounds after the death of her father. She founded Time and Tide, a weekly journal of politics and literature in 1920. In 19l5 she survived the sinking of the Lusitania.

Thomas, Mark (b. 1956): from Penclawdd, near Swansea; musician, graduated from University of Wales, led the Royal Ballet Orchestra (l981-83): played with London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras; composed music for Highlander, Superman, License to Kill, Twin Town, and many other major films and T.V.programs.

Thomas, Mickey (b. l954): b. Mochdre, footballer with Wsexham before moving to Manchester United and Everton; he returned to help Wrexham beat Arsenal in the F.A. Clup contest in l993, scoring the winning goal. He played for Wales 5l times, helping them defeat England 4-l.

Thomas, Rachel (1905-1995): from the Swansea Valley, actress who epitomized the indomitable Welsh Mam, she made her last appearance aged 97 (with Emlyn Williams in the B.B.C. film Caring). Beginning with local eisteddfodau, she began with the BBC in the early 1930's, she appeared in many movies, including Tiger Bay (1959) and How Green Was My Valley (on B.B.C, television 1959-1960).

Thomas, Richard (l838-l9l6): steel magnate, founder of Richard Thomas and Sons in l884: merged with Baldwin's in l945 and with Guest Keen in l947 to form the Steel Company of Wales, prosperous up to the late l950's.

Thomas, Richard James (l908-76): lexicographer, his Enwau Afonydd a Nentydd Cymru (Names of Welsh Rivers and Streams, l938), is still the standard.

Thomas, Robert (Ap Vychan, l809-80): from Llanuwchllyn, Mer., minister, preacher, Professor of Divinity at Bala Independent College (l873); co-editor of Y Dysgedydd, Eisteddfod Chair winner.

Thomas, R. S. (l9l3 -2000): Cardiff-born Anglican priest and poet who learned Welsh as an adult, inspired by rural Wales with its partisanship and growing sense of national consciousness as a defense against the encroachments of an unfeeling, materialistic, English-speaking world. Wrote over l500 poems in a 50-year period. Awarded the Queen's Gold Medal in l964.

Thomas, Robert Jermain (l839-l866): b. Llandovery; the first Protestant martyr of Korea, killed in Pyongyand after his capture with the crew of the American schooner General Sherman.

Thomas, Stanley (b. l942): from Merthyr, a billonaire who began acquiring airports through his company TBI which he began after amassing a fortune selling met pies to fish and chip shops (Pete’s Savoury Products). He supports numerous charities in Wales where he is president of the Boys and Girls Clubs and is building a children’s hospital.

Thomas, Sydney Gilchrist (l850-85): born in London to Cardiganshire parents; at Blaenavon, with Percy, his cousin, he discovered a method of taking phosphorus out of the pig iron in the manufacture of steel that was to have enormous impact on the making of steel throughout the world.

Thomas, Thomas L: born in Pennsylvania to a Welsh family, one of America's greatest baritones, star of opera and concert hall and a favorite on American T.V. in the l950's.

Thomas, William (Islwyn, l832-78): poet whose greatest work Y Storm reflects his emotional and spiritual torment following the death of his love, Ann Bowen.

Thompson, David (1770-1857): born in London of Welsh parents, known as "that Welshman" and "the man who measured Canada," he surveyed most of the Canadian-U.S. border in the late l8th century. Covering 80,000 miles on foot, dog sled, horseback and canoe, discovering the Columbia River, Thompson defined one-fifth of the North American continent. His 77 volumes of his studies in geography, biology and ethnography make him one of the world's greatest geographers.

Thrale, Hester (Hester Lynch Piozzi, l74l-l82l): author and letter writer, a Salusbury of Tremeirchion, Flintshire. As wife of wealthy brewer Henry Thrale, she was acquainted with the leading literary figures in London. As a widow, she was courted by Dr. Johnson but married music teacher Count Piozzi.