List of Welsh inventors facts for kids

This is a list of amazing people from Wales who invented things or made big discoveries. They helped change the world with their ideas and hard work!

Science and Technology Pioneers

Early Innovators

• John Dee was a brilliant mathematician in the 1500s. He started a new way of thinking about math in England. He was known for knowing a lot about many different subjects. He was born in Buallt, Radnor.

• William Jones was a mathematician and a naval navigator. In 1706, he was the first person to use the symbol 'Pi' (π) for the mathematical constant. He was born in Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd.

• Robert Recorde was an important doctor and mathematician from Tenby, West Wales. He wrote some of the most important books of his time. He wrote the first English book about algebra. He also invented the equals sign (=) that we still use today!

• William Morgan was born in Bridgend in 1750. He invented the vacuum tube, which was important for early electronics. He also helped create the modern way of calculating insurance. He even discovered X-rays without knowing it, over a hundred years before they were officially found!

• Philip Vaughan was an ironmaster from Carmarthen. In 1794, he patented the first design for a ball bearing. Ball bearings help things move smoothly with less friction, like in wheels or machines.

• Richard Roberts (engineer) was born in Llanymynech in 1789. He invented many things for textile factories and railway locomotives. His inventions helped make factories more efficient.

Modern Science and Engineering

• Edward George Bowen was a pioneer in developing radar. Radar uses radio waves to detect objects. He worked at a rocket testing base in Australia. He was born in Gendros, Swansea.

• David Brunt was a pioneer in modern meteorology, which is the study of weather. He was the head of the Meteorological Office and a secretary of the Royal Society. He was from Penfforddlas, Wales.

• Donald Davies was born in Treorchy, Wales. He came up with and developed packet switching. This is a super important technology that helps the Internet work by breaking data into small "packets" and sending them across networks.

• William Robert Grove invented the fuel cell. A fuel cell creates electricity from a chemical reaction. He was born in Swansea in 1811.

• David E. Hughes was a musician and philosopher. He was the first to send radio waves over a distance. He also invented the microphone and a system for printing telegraph messages. He was born in Corwen, Wales.

• John T. Houghton was a famous meteorologist. He was a big inspiration behind major international meetings about global warming, like the Rio and Kyoto conferences. He was born in Wales.

• Brian Josephson is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist from Cardiff. He discovered something called the Josephson junction, which is important in superconductors.

• Isaac Roberts was born in Groes near Denbigh in 1829. He was a pioneer in taking photos of deep space at the end of the 1800s. His work helped us see distant stars and galaxies.

• Alfred Russel Wallace was born in Llanbadoc, near Usk, Monmouthshire. He worked with Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution of species. Darwin even said that Wallace helped him develop his ideas.

• Evan Williams was a physicist born in Cwmsychpant, Llandysul, Wales. He discovered meson sub-atomic particles, which are tiny parts of atoms.

• Ernest Willows was a pioneering aviator born in Cardiff in 1896. He was known as 'The Father of British Airships' because of his work with airships.

• Winston M Thomas works in telecommunications in Texas. He invented a special device that locks vehicle fuel. He was born in Llanelli.

Computer and Internet Innovators

• Alan Cox is a computer programmer. He has been very involved in developing the Linux kernel since 1991. The Linux kernel is a core part of many computer operating systems.

• Terry Matthews founded two big telecommunications companies, 'Mitel' and 'Newbridge' Networks.

Transportation and Industry

• Bill Frost was a Welsh carpenter from Tenby. In 1894, he patented his design for an aeroplane. The next year, he flew in a powered flying machine, which was eight years before the Wright brothers' famous flight!

• Walter Davies (inventor), along with his brother Thomas, invented the 'Stepney Spare Wheel'. This was a very popular type of spare tire used on almost all early cars. He was born in Llanelli, South Wales.

• David Thomas invented a special hot blast furnace process in 1837. This process made it possible to make iron using anthracite coal. This changed how iron was made in Wales and later in Pennsylvania, USA, where he became known as the "father" of the American steel industry.

Medical and Social Advancements

• Martha Hughes Cannon was a pioneer in medicine for women and children. The Health Department in Utah, USA, is named in her honor. She was born in Llandudno, Wales.

• Archie Cochrane was a doctor who started the Cochrane Collaboration. This group helps gather and review medical research to make sure treatments are based on good evidence. He did a lot of his important medical research in Wales.

• Ernest Jones was born in Llwchwy, South Wales. He helped bring psychoanalysis to Britain and North America. Psychoanalysis is a type of therapy that explores how unconscious thoughts affect behavior.

• Bernard Knight is a forensic pathologist, which means he studies bodies to help solve crimes. He also writes crime fiction books. He was born and lived most of his life in Cardiff.

• Sir Thomas Lewis was born in Taffs Well in 1881. He was a British cardiologist, a doctor who specializes in heart problems. He created the term "clinical science" to describe medical research that directly helps patients.

• William Price was born in Llantrisant, South Wales. He helped bring back the practice of cremation (burning a body after death) to Britain.

• Sir Tudor Thomas was an eye surgeon from Swansea. In the 1930s, he pioneered a type of eye surgery called ophthalmic corneaplasty, which helps with eye conditions. He was born in Ystradgynlais in 1893.

Other Notable Contributions

• Sir Clifford Darby was a geographer. He was a leader in showing how geography connects with other subjects. He was knighted in 1988 and was born in Neath, South Wales.

• John Gwyn Jeffreys was a conchologist, someone who studies shells. He helped pioneer deep-sea dredging, which is a way of exploring the ocean floor. He also communicated with Charles Darwin. He came from a long-established Welsh family.

• Steve Jones is a professor of genetics at University College, London. He was born in Wales.

• Francis Lewis was born in Llandaff. He was one of the people from New York who signed the US 'Declaration of Independence'.

• Edward Lhuyd was a scholar at Jesus College Oxford and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. He was the most important Celtic scholar of his time, studying Celtic languages and cultures. He was born in Oswestry in 1660.

• Ronald M Lockley was a famous naturalist and author. He is best known for living on Skokholm Island off Pembrokeshire and studying nature there. He was born in Cardiff.

• Richard Price was born at Tynton Farm Llangeinor, South Wales. He developed the first tables used for calculating insurance rates.

• Pryce Pryce-Jones gave the world mail-order (catalogue) shopping around 1859. This meant people could order goods from a catalogue and have them delivered. He was born and lived in Newtown, Montgomeryshire (Powys).

• Bertrand Russell was a philosopher and mathematician. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. He is considered one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. He helped make mathematics popular and came up with many new theories. He was born in Trelleck, Monmouthshire, South Wales.