| Description | Thomas John Morgan, better known as T.J.Morgan was a Welsh academic and author. He was born in the village of Glais, near Swansea on 22 April 1907.
He went to Pontardawe Grammar School and studied Welsh at the University College of Swansea (1925-1929).
T.J.Morgan married Huana Rees in 1935, who also studied Welsh at the University College of Swansea. They had two sons, Prys, academic and historian, and Rhodri, politician., Leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister for Wales.
T.J.Morgan was appointed Assistant Lecturer in Welsh at the University College of South Wales, Cardiff in 1930, and was appointed Registrar in 1945. In 1961, he was appointed Professor of Welsh at the University College of Swansea. Throughout his career, Morgan published regularly including collections of essays in 1937 Dal Llygoden, 1945 Trwm ac Ysgafn and 1948 Cynefin. He continued to compose poetry and literary essays that appeared in journals and then as collections in 1966, 1969, 1971 and 1972. He retired in 1975 having spent 1971-75 as Academic Vice-principal. He was active in many public circles in Wales; he was a regular adjudicator at the national eisteddfod and served on its Council and committees and he was chair of the Welsh Arts Council's literature committee 1967-72. He was one of the founders of yr Academi Gymreig and a member of the courts of the National Library and National Museum.
In December 1985 he published jointly with his son Prys, 'Welsh Surnames, a pioneering study of Welsh surnames and the development of the Welsh naming system'.
T.J.Morgan died in Swansea on 9 December 1986.
For further information see Brynley Roberts, 'Morgan, Thomas John (1907-1986)', Dictionary of Welsh Biography; online edn, 11-05-2016 [https://biography.wales/article/s11-MORG-JOH-1907?msclkid=e7312d8cd12a11ec9cd836839fd70337] |