William Rees

Who was William Rees?

The Rev. William Rees, usually known in Wales by his bardic name of Gwilym Hiraethog, was a Welsh poet and author, one of the major figures of Welsh literature during the 19th century.

Gwilym Hiraethog took his pseudonym from his birthplace, a farm on the Hiraethog mountain in Denbighshire. Largely self-educated, he was a polymath, who took an interest in astronomy and political science as well as being a Nonconformist minister and a leading literary figure.

In 1843 he founded the Welsh language journal Yr Amserau in Liverpool. He used the newspaper to campaign for the disestablishment of the Church in Wales.