David Davies, 1st Baron Davies

David Davies, 1st Baron Davies (11 May 1880 – 16 June 1944) was a Welsh Liberal Party politician and public benefactor who was MP for Montgomeryshire from 1906 to 1929. He was a grandson of the Welsh industrialist David Davies. As a philanthropist, he established the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association to combat tuberculosis in Wales, as well as the Wilson Chair of International Politics at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Early life and education Davies was born in Llandinam, Montgomeryshire, the first child of Edward Davies and May Jones.

He was educated at Merchiston Castle School and King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1903. His family's wealth allowed the young Davies to travel extensively to exotic locations, where he enjoyed game hunting. He visited Africa, Asia and the United States, including Alaska. According to Lord Riddell, Davies was the only member of the Russian mission to foreshadow the Russian revolution.

Following the war, Davies became an active supporter of the League of Nations. In 1929, Davies stood down prior to the general election to focus on international affairs.

In 1938, with a general election likely to occur in the near future, Lord Davies put pressure on Clement Davies by persuading the Montgomeryshire executive to seek clarification from their MP on his views regarding the National Government and appeasement. The MP shortly after avowedly opposed appeasement and resigned the Liberal National whip.

Philanthropy Like his sisters, Davies was a significant philanthropist who donated to a number of good causes both locally and nationally. In 1910, he contributed £150,000 (£ as of ) to the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial, which was formed with the aim of eradicating tuberculosis in Wales.

He endowed perhaps the world's first Chair in International Politics, established in honour of Woodrow Wilson in 1919 at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, which also hosts the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies. He was also the president of the National Library of Wales.

The Welsh Temple of Peace in Cardiff was his brainchild, and was funded by Davies, to a great extent, pledging £58,000 in 1934 (equivalent to £ million in ) towards the erection of a building.

Family and issue In 1910, Davies married his first wife Amy Penman, daughter of Lancelot Tulip Penman of Broadwood Park, and had two children:

In 1944, while launching a new X-Ray mobile scanning unit at Sully Hospital (which the Temple of Peace in Cardiff had funded), Davies volunteered to undergo the first routine chest scan. The scan revealed advanced cancer from which he died from a few months later in June 1944.

His eldest son and heir, Major Hon. David Michael Davies, was serving in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers when he was killed in action in September 1944, only a few months after inheriting the title. The latter's eldest son succeeded as the third Baron Davies, days prior to his fourth birthday.