Thomas Richards (historian)

Thomas Richards, MA, D.Litt., F.R.Hist.S (15 March 1878 – 24 June 1962) was a Welsh historian, author and librarian.

Richards was born at Tal-y-bont, Cardiganshire, and was nicknamed "Doctor Tom". He studied history at the University College of North Wales (now Bangor University), before working as a history teacher at Tywyn, Bootle and, from 1912, Maesteg Secondary School, later returning to his old College as Librarian from 1926 to 1946. As well as his prize-winning studies of the history of nonconformity in Wales, he published two autobiographical works in Welsh, edited journals for the Welsh Baptist Historical Society and the Welsh Bibliographical Society, gave lectures and radio talks, and was a member of the Board of Celtic Studies.

Works

• A History of the Puritan Movement in Wales (1639–1653) (1920)
• Religious Developments in Wales (1654–1662) (1923)
• Wales under the Penal Code 1662-1687 (1925)
• Wales under The Indulgence (1672–1675) (1928)

Sources

• Welsh Biography Online
• Archives Wales
• Vehicles of grace and hope: Welsh missionaries in India, 1800-1970, D. Ben Rees (Ed.), 2002, p. 187