Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd

Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd (16 September 1840 – 14 December 1927), was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.

Born in Penylan, Cardiff, Wales, Thomas was educated at Weston School, near Bath. His father was Daniel Thomas, a contractor (offices in Grangetown, Cardiff), in whose business Thomas worked as a young man. He studied as a lay student at Regent's Park College under Joseph Angus.

Thomas became member of Cardiff Borough Council for Roath in 1875 and served on the council until 1886, being mayor in 1881-2. As mayor he was central to the decision to locate the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in Cardiff, rather than Swansea. He gave £1,000 towards the building fund. He was created a Freeman of the borough in 1887.

As a prominent public figure and through his nonconformist connections, Thomas began to be mentioned as a possible parliamentary candidate following the redistribution of seats in 1885 which led to the creation of additional constituencies in Glamorgan. In April 1885, Thomas was among six candidates nominated by the local Liberal Association for selection as candidate for the Rhondda constituency.

At the 1885 general election Thomas was elected Member of Parliament for East Glamorganshire, winning over 70% of the votes and defeating his Conservative opponent Godfrey Clark by 2,800 votes. He continued to represent the constituency until his retirement at the December 1910 general election. In 1891, Thomas, working with T. E. Ellis introduced the National Institutions (Wales) Bill, providing for a Secretary of State for Wales and a University of Wales, as well as a Welsh Parliament, to be located in Aberystwyth. The Bill did not secure a Second Reading. He was also involved with Cymru Fydd, serving as President of the Welsh National Federation, the body formed by the merger of Cymru Fydd and the North Wales Liberal Federation.

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