David Richard Seaborne Davies (26 June 1904 – 26 October 1984) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

law teacher who served briefly as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP).

Early life

Davies was born in

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plai ...

, and attended the local grammar school followed by

University College, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. He went on to

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

Political career

When

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

was given a Peerage after 55 years representing

Caernarvon Boroughs Caernarfon was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Caernarfon in Wales. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system. The constituency was created in 1536 as a District of Boroughs, represented in ...

, Davies was chosen as the

candidate to follow him. He faced a contest against

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

but won the byelection, taking his seat just as the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

was coming to an end in Europe. Unfortunately for Davies, the end of the war brought a swift dissolution to Parliament and he lost his seat to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the 1945 general election. He had one of the shortest tenures as a Member of Parliament during the Twentieth Century, in contrast to his predecessor who was one of the longest of all time.

Later life

After his defeat, Davies was appointed to the Chair of Common Law in the Faculty of Law at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. He was also Warden of Derby Hall. This position allowed him to take several public appointments, including as a member of the

Criminal Law Revision Committee The Criminal Law Revision Committee of England & Wales was a standing committee of learned legal experts that was called upon by the Home Secretary to advise on legal issues and to report back recommendations for reform. While never formally abolish ...

where his advice in relation to the law of dishonesty led to a significant reform in the

Theft Act 1968 The Theft Act 1968c 60 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales. On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of decepti ...

. His academic position also helped him to publish significant works on the history of

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s, and he was President of the Society of Public Teachers of Law in 1960–61. In 1962 he was the Cooley Lecturer at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Within Liverpool University he was Public Orator from 1950 to 1955, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor from 1956 to 1960. The Faculty of Law building at Liverpool was largely built at his instigation. After retirement in 1971, Davies moved to

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor ...

where he indulged his interest in

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

(he had been Life President of Liverpool University Rugby Football Club and Vice President of

London Welsh RFC London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

, and became President of Pwllheli Sports Club for ten years. He served as a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

in both Liverpool and Caernarfon, and was

High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibi ...

in 1967–68. Davies was a great after-dinner speaker, regaling his audience with a large fund of Welsh anecdotes suitable for any audience. He was also interested in Welsh culture and was President of the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

in 1955, 1973 and 1975.

References

* "Prof Seaborne Davies" (Obituary), ''The Times'', 5 November 1984, p. 16. * M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" vol. III (Harvester Press, 1979)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Seaborne 1904 births 1984 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Academics of the University of Liverpool High Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire Presidents of the National Eisteddfod of Wales Members of Parliament for Caernarfon

Early life

Political career

Later life

See also

References

External links