Morris-Jones, Sir John

(1864-1929)

   John Jones was born at Trefor, Llandrygarn, Anglesey, and when he was knighted in 1918, he started styling himself Morris-Jones, after his father. Through a scholarship he went to Jesus College, Oxford, in 1883. He graduated with a third class in the final school of mathematics in 1887, mathematics having given place to Welsh literature. In 1886, Jones and six others founded the Dafydd ap Gwilym Society in Oxford for the discussion of Welsh problems. He was appointed lecturer in Welsh at Bangor University College in 1889, then professor of Welsh in 1895, a post he held until his death. His ode "Cymru Fu, Cymru Fydd," published in 1892, demonstrates his own skill in the ancient technique of the bards and revolutionized Welsh literature by raising the standard of the Welsh language of Eisteddfod poetry. He was given honorary degrees from Glasgow University and from the National University of Ireland. He died after a brief illness at his home at Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, North Wales. In 1928, he published The Art of Poetry Orgraff yr Iaith Gymraeg. Some of his poems: "The North Star," "Old Age," "The Wind's Lament."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Oxford Book of Welsh Verse in English. Gwyn Jones, ed. Oxford University Press, 1977.