John Lloyd Williams was a noted botanist, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

. He was one of the founders of the Welsh Folk-Song Society, established in 1906 to promote the collection and study of traditional Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 folk songs, and became the first editor of the Society's Journal.

Williams was born at Plas Isa, Llanrwst

Llanrwst

Llanrwst is a small town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th century to 6th century Saint Grwst, and the original parish church in Cae Llan was replaced by the 12th-century church....

. In 1873, having first worked as a pupil teacher, he became a student at Bangor Normal College

Bangor Normal College

The Normal College, Bangor was an independent teacher training college, founded in 1861 until 1996, when the College became part of University of Wales Bangor...

. In 1875 he was appointed head of the Board School at Garndolbenmaen. While working there, he indulged his love of music by writing opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s for the school to perform. He lectured in botany at the University College of North Wales, Bangor and acted as Director of Music for that College. In 1908, he was awarded the degree of DSc

Doctor of Science

Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...

. He subsequently became Professor of Botany at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth

University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...

, from 1915 until he retired in 1925. In 1931 he became editor of the music magazine Y Cerddor.

Williams and Arthur Somerville were the editors

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

 of Welsh Melodies (Boosey & Co., 1907 and 1909), a collection of genuine old Welsh music considered to be of exceptionally fine quality. Many songs in the collection had never been in print in other published song collections.

Williams presented a well-received paper to the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion

The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion was founded in 1751 as a literary society devoted to the preservation of the Welsh language. It was founded by two brothers, Lewis Morris and Richard Morris, natives of Anglesey...

on 22 January 1908, entitled Welsh National Melodies and Folk-Songs.

Musical works

• Aelwyd Angharad (operetta) (1910)
• Cadifor (operetta)
• Nos Calan Gaeaf (cantata)