William Thomas Lewis, 1st Baron Merthyr (5 August 1837-27 August 1914), known as Sir William Lewis, 1st Baronet, from 1896 to 1911, was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 coal mining magnate.

Lewis was the son of Thomas William Lewis, an engineer, of Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...

, Glamorganshire. He at first worked for the Bute

Marquess of Bute

Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute.-Family history:...

 coal mining pits in southern Wales, but between 1870 and 1880 he acquired his own pits in Rhondda

Rhondda Cynon Taff

Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...

, which became known as Lewis Merthyr Consolidated Collieries Limited. He was also the founder of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Association as a response the growing strength of the trade unions. Lewis was created a Baronet, of Nantgwyne, in 1896 and in 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Merthyr, of Senghenydd in the County of Glamorgan.

Lord Merthyr died in August 1914, aged 77, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son Herbert.

A sculpture by Thomas Brock

Thomas Brock

Sir Thomas Brock KCB RA was an English sculptor.- Life :Brock was born in Worcester, attended the School of Design in Worcester and then undertook an apprenticeship in modelling at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works. In 1866 he became a pupil of the sculptor John Henry Foley. He married in 1869,...

 was erected in Aberdare Park

Aberdare Park

Aberdare Park is a well-preserved Victorian public park located in the village of Trecynon, near the town of Aberdare in South Wales.-History:...

and unveiled in 1913.