T. E. Ellis

Thomas Edward Ellis (16 February 1859 – 5 April 1899), often known as T. E. Ellis or Tom Ellis, was a Welsh politician who was the leader of Cymru Fydd, a movement aimed at gaining home rule for Wales. Ellis was, for a time, the most prominent of a generation of Liberal politicians who emerged in Wales after 1886, who placed greater emphasis than the previous generation to a Welsh dimension to their politics. His early death in 1899 aged 40 added to the aura that surrounded his name. Early life T. E. Ellis was born at Cefnddwysarn near Bala, the son of a tenant farmer, and was brought up among folk memories of the political evictions in Merioneth following the 1859 and 1868 General Elections. Having attended Bala Grammar School, where his fellow pupils included Owen Morgan Edwards, he progressed to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (then Aberystwyth college) from 1875 to 1879, then went to New College, Oxford, graduating in history in 1884. On leaving Oxford, Ellis briefly went into journalism and also acted as a private tutor to the son of a South Wales shipping magnate. He then became private secretary to Liberal Party MP, John Brunner. This took him to London and drew him closer to political life. In 1892, he was one of the founder members of the Aberystwyth Old Students' Association and was President from 1892 to 1898. Parliamentary career In 1886, he was selected as the Liberal Party candidate for the Merionethshire constituency, and was elected the same year at the general election.