Walter Jenkin Evans (1 April 1856 – 10 February 1927) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

who served as

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of Carmarthen Presbyterian College and who wrote about the history and people of

Unitarianism Unitarianism () is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian sect of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the wikt:unitary, unitary God in Christianity, nature of God as the singular and unique Creator deity, creator of the universe, believe that ...

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

Early life and education

Evans was born on 1 April 1856 at

, south Wales, the son of Rev Titus Evans. After schooling at Parc-y-felfed Preparatory School (also known as Parkyvelvet Academy) and at Queen Elizabeth's grammar school in Carmarthen. Evans went to Carmarthen Presbyterian College from 1870 to 1873, then to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, and

Manchester College, Oxford Harris Manchester College (HMC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of the un ...

, obtaining his BA in 1878 and his MA in 1880.

Teaching career

After teaching in London and in Brighton from 1879 to 1884, he returned to Carmarthen Presbyterian College in 1884 as tutor in Latin and Greek. In 1888, he became Principal (the appointment attracting some controversy at the time on theological grounds). He helped to establish good links between the college and the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

during his time in office, and served as Dean of Divinity for the university from 1910 to 1913.

Academic Works

Whilst Evans published some research on Latin poetry (''Alliteratio Latina, or Alliteration in Latin Verse'', 1921), his main work was on the history of

. He wrote on the history of Carmarthen Academy and on the history of Unitarianism in Carmarthen, and also penned biographies of Unitarian students from Carmarthen. The

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

holds six manuscript volumes of his biographies and notes on the history of his denomination.

Personal life

He married Annie Curtis in 1888, and they had two sons and one daughter. He was also the first cousin to the jurist, Daniel Thomas Tudor.

Death

Evans died at home in Carmarthen on 10 February 1927. He was survived by his wife and their 3 children, Major Stuart Evans, Alice Mellor, and Grace Evans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Walter Jenkin 1856 births 1927 deaths Welsh Unitarians 19th-century Welsh historians 20th-century Welsh historians People from Carmarthen Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of Harris Manchester College, Oxford