John Llewelyn Davies (26 February 1826 – 18 May 1916) was an English preacher and theologian, an outspoken foe of poverty and inequality, and was active in

Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

groups. Obituary of John Llewelyn Davies, The Times, Friday, 19 May 1916 He was an original member of the

Alpine Club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...

and the first ascendant of the Dom. His daughter was suffragist

Margaret Llewelyn Davies Margaret Caroline Llewelyn Davies (16 October 1861 – 28 May 1944) was a British social activist who served as general secretary of the Co-operative Women's Guild from 1889 until 1921. Her election has been described as a "turning point" in th ...

. His son Arthur Llewelyn Davies was the father of the boys who were the inspiration for the stories of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

by J. M. Barrie. His sister

Emily Davies Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist who founded Girton College, Cambridge. She campaigned as a suffragist and for women's rights to university education. In her early life, she attended meetings of the ...

was one of the founders of

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

Early life and education

Born 26 February 1826 in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, Davies was the son of John D. Davies, one of the leading Evangelical clergyman of his day. He attended

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Career

Davies was elected to a fellowship at Trinity College in 1851. In 1852, he and colleague David James Vaughan published a popular English translation of

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's ''

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

'', which they sold to the publisher for £60. He wrote extensively on New Testament theology, especially the

epistles of Paul The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest exta ...

. He was ordained in 1851 by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and took an unpaid curacy at

St Anne's Limehouse St Anne's Limehouse is a Hawksmoor Anglican Church in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was consecrated in 1730, one of the twelve churches built through the 1711 Act of Parliament. History St Anne's Limehouse was formed ...

. He was reassigned in 1853 to St Mark's

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, then in 1856 became vicar of Christ Church, Cosway Street, Marylebone.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

made him an

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning mona ...

in 1876. In 1889 became vicar of

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in ...

, where he served until 1908. Davies worked with

John Frederick Denison Maurice John Frederick Denison Maurice (29 August 1805 – 1 April 1872), commonly known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican priest and theologian. He was a prolific author and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since the Second World War ...

in the foundation of the

Working Men's College The Working Men's College (also known as the St Pancras Working Men's College, WMC, The Camden College or WM College), is among the earliest adult education institutions established in the United Kingdom, and Europe's oldest extant centre for adu ...

in 1854, where he subsequently taught.

Mountaineering

Davies was one of the 31 founding members of the

Alpine Club (UK) The Alpine Club was founded in London on 22 December 1857 and is the world's first list of alpine clubs, mountaineering club. The primary focus of the club is to support mountaineers who climb in the Alps and the Greater Ranges of the world's mo ...

, in 1857 and resigning from it in 1864. He attended its 50th jubilee celebration in 1907 and then rejoined in 1909. Davies was in the first ascent party of the Dom on 11 September 1858 and of the

Täschhorn The Täschhorn () is a mountain in the Pennine range of the Alps in Switzerland. There are no easy mountaineering routes to its summit, and it is regarded as being among the top ten 4,000-metre mountains in the Alps for difficulty, and "one of t ...

on 30 July 1862. Davies published a detailed account of the first ascent of the Dom in Peaks, Passes and Glaciers.

Personal life

In 1859, he married Mary Crompton, the eldest daughter of Charles John Crompton. They had seven children: Charles (1860–1927),

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(1861–1944),

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

(1863–1907, died of cancer), Maurice (1864–1939), Harry (1866–1923), Crompton (1868–1935), and Theodore (1870–1905, died of drowning). Mary Llewelyn Davies died in 1895. John Llewelyn Davies died in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

on 18 May 1916.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, John 1826 births 1916 deaths People from Chichester

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

English theologians English people of Welsh descent Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Repton School Anglican socialists British Christian socialists