Ben Bowen Thomas

Sir Ben Bowen Thomas (18 May 1899 – 26 July 1977) was a Welsh civil servant and university President.

He served as Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Department of the Ministry of Education from 1945 to 1963, and was President of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth from 1964 to 1975.

Influenced by the adult education movement, he spent five years as a university tutorial class lecturer before becoming the first warden of Coleg Harlech when it was founded by Dr Thomas Jones in 1927.

[1] He was also involved with the work of Unesco, becoming a member of its executive board and later chairman (1958–1960).

Apart from his knighthood awarded in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours List, he was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wales and an Honorary Fellowship by Jesus College.