William John Gruffydd (14 February 1881 – 29 September 1954) was a Welsh scholar, poet, writer and editor, and the last Member of Parliament to represent the University of Wales seat. Family, education and early life Gruffydd was born in Gorffwysfa, Bethel, in the parish of Llanddeiniolen, Caernarfonshire, the son of a quarryman. In 1894, after elementary schooling at Bethel primary school, he was one of the first students to join the recently opened Caernarvon County School. In 1899, he won a place at Jesus College, Oxford, graduating in English literature. In 1904 he was appointed Assistant Master at Beaumaris Grammar School, and in 1906 Lecturer in Celtic at University College, Cardiff (now Cardiff University). In 1909 he married Gwenda Evans, the daughter of a minister of religion from Abercarn. They had one son. During the First World War he volunteered for service with the Royal Navy: he served from 1915 to 1918 as a naval officer in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. On being demobilised, he was appointed Professor of Celtic at University College, Cardiff (succeeding Professor Thomas Powel, who retired in 1918), and he held the chair until his retirement in 1946. Celtic poet and academic Gruffydd specialised in Celtic culture. He became a schoolteacher and worked in Scarborough and then for two years at Beaumaris Grammar School before taking a post as assistant lecturer in Celtic studies at University College, Cardiff in 1906; from 1918 until 1946 he was Professor of Celtic. He was President of Council of the National Eisteddfod of Wales and edited Y Llenor ('The Littérateur', a highly influential Welsh language journal of literature published by the university). He wrote poetry and prose and contributed to Welsh scholarship by publishing important histories of Welsh literature and legend. Politics Gruffydd took an interest in Welsh politics and social questions, coming from a nonconformist, radical family. He was a member of Plaid Cymru and served as deputy vice-president in 1937. However, Gruffydd voiced disagreement with Plaid Cymru party president Saunders Lewis, which eventually led to his leaving the party. Gruffydd was elected to Parliament as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the University of Wales seat in a by-election on 29 January 1943 after the sitting MP Ernest Evans became a County Court Judge. Gruffydd's opponent in the by-election was Plaid's Saunders Lewis, and he had effectively split the Welsh-speaking community. He was comfortably