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100 Welsh Heroes facts for kids

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100 Welsh Heroes was a fun opinion poll held in Wales. It was like Wales's own version of a big poll in the United Kingdom that looked for the "100 Greatest Britons." This Welsh poll happened mostly online. It started on September 8, 2003, and ended on February 23, 2004. The winners were announced on March 1, 2004, which is St David's Day, a special day in Wales. Later, the results were put into a book.

How the Poll Worked

The "100 Welsh Heroes" poll was run by an organization called Culturenet Cymru. This group gets funding from the Welsh Assembly and is based at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The people who organized the poll said that over 81,000 nominations and votes were cast. This made it the biggest online poll ever done in Wales at that time!

The poll aimed to find the most inspiring and important people from Wales. It included heroes from many different areas, like sports, music, history, and science. Only nine women made it onto the list of 100 heroes. The most popular woman was the actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Who Made the Top 100?

The poll showed many amazing people who have made a big difference to Wales and the world. Here are the top 100 heroes chosen by the public:

  1. Aneurin Bevan, (1897–1960) a politician (2,426 votes)
  2. Owain Glyndŵr, (1359–1415) a Prince of Wales (2,309 votes)
  3. Tom Jones, (1940–) a famous singer (2,072 votes)
  4. Gwynfor Evans, (1912–2005) a politician (1,928 votes)
  5. Richard Burton, (1925–1984) a well-known actor (1,755 votes)
  6. Gareth Edwards, (1947–) a rugby player (1,685 votes)
  7. Dylan Thomas, (1914–1953) a poet (1,630 votes)
  8. David Lloyd George, (1863–1945) a politician (1,627 votes)
  9. Robert Owen, (1771–1858) a person who helped others and started new ideas (1,621 votes)
  10. Saunders Lewis, (1893–1985) a writer (1,601 votes)
  11. Mike Peters, (1959–) a musician (1,594 votes)
  12. Bertrand Russell, (1872–1970) a philosopher (1,469 votes)
  13. Catherine Zeta-Jones, (1969–) an actress (1,136 votes)
  14. R. S. Thomas, (1913–2000) a poet (898 votes)
  15. Andrew Vicari, (1932–2016) an artist (873 votes)
  16. Evan Roberts, (1878–1951) a religious leader (816 votes)
  17. James Dean Bradfield, (1969–) a musician (790 votes)
  18. Bishop William Morgan (1545–1604) (775 votes)
  19. John Charles, (1931–2004) a footballer (769 votes)
  20. Phil Campbell, (1961–) a musician (763 votes)
  21. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales (564 votes)
  22. Ioan Gruffudd, (1973–) an actor (464 votes)
  23. Richey Edwards, (1967–) a musician (436 votes)
  24. J. P. R. Williams, (1949–) a rugby player (433 votes)
  25. Tanni Grey-Thompson, (1969–) an athlete (432 votes)
  26. Simon Weston, (1961–) a war hero (416 votes)
  27. John Evans, (1960–) a writer (352 votes)
  28. Alfred Russel Wallace, (1823–1913) a scientist (313 votes)
  29. Michael D. Jones, (1822–1898) who helped start the Welsh community in Patagonia (284 votes)
  30. Dafydd ap Gwilym, a poet (281 votes)
  31. Rowan Williams, (1950–) a religious leader (273 votes)
  32. Patrick Jones, (1965–) a poet, writer, and filmmaker (260 votes)
  33. Julian Cayo-Evans, (1937–1995) an activist (257 votes)
  34. Tommy Cooper, (1921–1984) a comedian (219 votes)
  35. Roald Dahl, (1916–1990) a famous author (201 votes)
  36. John Frost, (1784–1877) a leader in the Chartist movement (187 votes)
  37. Hedd Wyn, (1887–1917) a poet (178 votes)
  38. Jimmy Wilde, (1892–1969) a boxer (177 votes)
  39. Dr Richard Price, (1723–1791) a philosopher (171 votes)
  40. Sir Kyffin Williams, (1918–2006) an artist (170 votes)
  41. Kate Roberts, (1891–1985) a writer (167 votes)
  42. Roy Jenkins, (1920–2003) a politician (165 votes)
  43. Hywel Dda, (880–950) a king and law-maker (164 votes)
  44. Sir Anthony Hopkins, (1937–) an actor (160 votes)
  45. Professor Steve Jones, (1944–) a biologist (159 votes)
  46. Saint David, (500?–589) the patron saint of Wales (158 votes)
  47. William Williams Pantycelyn, (1717–1791) a poet (158 votes)
  48. Donald Davies, (1924–2000) a scientist (146 votes)
  49. Ron Davies, (1946–) a politician (145 votes)
  50. Professor Brian Josephson, (1940–) a Nobel Prize-winning scientist (144 votes)
  51. Sir Henry Morton Stanley, (1841–1904) an explorer (143 votes)
  52. T. E. Lawrence, (1888–1935) a war hero (143 votes)
  53. Henry VII of England, (1457–1509) King of England (142 votes)
  54. Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Wales (139 votes)
  55. Bryn Terfel, (1965–) a singer (138 votes)
  56. Dic Penderyn, (1808–1831) a political martyr (136 votes)
  57. Ian Rush, (1961–) a footballer (135 votes)
  58. Neil Kinnock, (1942–) a politician (135 votes)
  59. W. H. Davies, (1871–1940) a poet (135 votes)
  60. Mark Hughes, (1963–) a footballer (132 votes)
  61. Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, (1883–1978) an architect (120 votes)
  62. Bill Frost, (1848–1935) an aviator (120 votes)
  63. Dafydd Iwan, (1943–) a musician and politician (115 votes)
  64. Dr William Price, (1800–1893) a physician (114 votes)
  65. Elizabeth Phillips Hughes, (1851–1925) an educator (110 votes)
  66. Margaret Haig Thomas, (1883–1958) a suffragette (108 votes)
  67. Professor Clive Granger (1934–2009) (107 votes)
  68. Sir Terry Matthews, (1943–) an entrepreneur (95 votes)
  69. Howell Harris, (1714–1773) a religious leader (94 votes)
  70. King Arthur, a legendary king of the Britons (92 votes)
  71. Cerys Matthews, (1969–) a singer (88 votes)
  72. Laura Ashley, (1925–1985) a clothing designer (87 votes)
  73. William Henry Preece, (1834–1913) an engineer and inventor (86 votes)
  74. David Davies, (1818–1890) an industrialist (81 votes)
  75. Thomas Jones, (1742–1803) an artist (81 votes)
  76. Colin Jackson, (1967–) an athlete (77 votes)
  77. Captain Henry Morgan, (1635–1688) a buccaneer (71 votes)
  78. Julien Macdonald, (1971–) a fashion designer (68 votes)
  79. Gwen John, (1876–1939) an artist (68 votes)
  80. Rhodri Mawr, (820–878) a king (64 votes)
  81. Iolo Morganwg, (1747–1826) a poet and author (63 votes)
  82. Alexander Cordell, (1914–1997) a novelist (63 votes)
  83. Owain Lawgoch, (1330–1378) a claimant to the throne of Wales (62 votes)
  84. Dannie Abse, (1923–2014) a poet (62 votes)
  85. Gerald of Wales, (1146–1223) a bishop and writer (60 votes)
  86. Robert Recorde, (1512–1558) a mathematician (57 votes)
  87. David Edward Hughes, (1831–1900) a scientist and musician (57 votes)
  88. Richard Amerik, (1714–1782) a merchant (57 votes)
  89. Evan Evans (Ieuan Fardd), (1731–1789) a poet (57 votes)
  90. Richard Wilson, (1714–1782) an artist (56 votes)
  91. William Robert Grove, (1811–1896) a judge and scientist (56 votes)
  92. Megan Lloyd George, (1902–1966) a politician (56 votes)
  93. John Jones, (1818–1898) an astronomer (55 votes)
  94. Raymond Williams, (1921–1988) a writer (55 votes)
  95. John Cale, (1942–) a musician (55 votes)
  96. Ernest Jones, (1879–1958) a psychiatrist (54 votes)
  97. Waldo Williams, (1904–1971) a poet (53 votes)
  98. The Lord Rhys, (1132–1197) a ruler of Deheubarth (51 votes)
  99. Isaac Roberts, (1829–1904) an engineer and businessman (44 votes)
  100. Elizabeth Andrews, (1882–1960) a political organizer (37 votes)

See also

  • 100 Great Welsh Women
  • Greatest Britons spin-offs
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