Statue of Dr William Price in the Bull Ring, Llantrisant

Dr. William Price (4 March 1800 – 23 January 1893)^[1] was a Welsh physician and a famous eccentric, best known for introducing cremation to the United Kingdom. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year -of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar until Friday, but 12 days ahead since Saturday. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In popular usage eccentricity refers to unusual or odd Behavior on the part of an individual Cremation is the act of reducing a Corpse by burning, generally in a crematorium furnace or crematory fire The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Early life

He was born in Rudry, between Newport and Caerphilly in South Wales. Rudry (Rhydri is a small Village and community located to the east of Caerphilly in Wales. Newport (Casnewydd is a city and principal area in Wales, in the United Kingdom. Caerphilly (Caerffili is a town in the County borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the bottom of the Rhymney Valley, with South Wales (De Cymru is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south and Mid Wales and West Wales As a child, Price caused consternation by walking the high hills around his home naked. Nudity is the state of wearing no Clothing. The term' "nudity" can also occasionally be used to refer to wearing significantly less clothing than expected In 1820 he went to study medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. He also studied in Caerphilly. Price became fluent in Welsh and English and conversant in Latin and other languages. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. By the mid-1820s Price was a Doctor at Treforest Iron Works, a position that enabled him to see at first hand the effects of poor working conditions, low pay, daily danger, accidents, exploitation and conservatism and gave him a strong interest in Chartism as it came to its peak. Events and trends Nationalistic independence helped reshape the world during this decade Greece gains independence from the Ottoman Empire For chartism in financial markets see Technical analysis, and for the British socialist journal see Chartist (magazine Chartism was

Chartism

He was a prominent Welsh Chartist and was forced to flee to Paris, France, after being involved in the Newport Rising of 1839. For chartism in financial markets see Technical analysis, and for the British socialist journal see Chartist (magazine Chartism was Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain, when on November 4 1839, somewhere between 1000 and Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common He was an equally prominent Druid and exponent of 19th century Druidic traditions, appointing himself as archdruid. A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Neo-druidism or neo-druidry (referred to simply as Druidry by some adherents is a form of modern Spirituality or Religion that promotes The Archdruid is the title used by the presiding official at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. ^[2] By the following year however, he returned to South Wales and in 1841 his first child, a daughter, was born. For the game see 1841 (board game. Year 1841 ( MDCCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link

Eccentricities

During his life, Price's list of behaviour and characteristics included being a fanatical walker and a strong supporter of conservation , wearing a fox-skin headress, never wearing socks (which, he thought, were unhygienic), refusing to treat patients who were smokers^[3] and washing every coin he received as he considered them a major source of cross-contamination. A fox is an Animal belonging to any one of about 27 Species (of which only 12 actually belong to the Vulpes genus or 'true foxes' of small Tobacco Smoking is the inhalation of smoke from burned dried or cured leaves of the Tobacco plant most often in the form of a Cigarette. He was also a vegetarian, saying that eating meat "brought out the beast in man". Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea Price did not believe in marriage, which he saw as the enslavement of women and also disliked the capitalist coal mine owners and the all-powerful local gentry. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Gentry generally refers to people of high Social class, especially in the past He was also a supporter of the local miners in several strikes during the 19th century. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

Price was also responsible for the building of the famous "Round houses" in Pontypridd. Pontypridd is both a community and a Town in Glamorgan, Wales, in the County borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff and is situated 12 He convinced a local builder that he owned the land and these round houses were to be the gateway to his mansion. He neither owned the land nor a mansion.

Pioneer of cremation

However, Price is remembered chiefly as the performer of the first legal cremation in the United Kingdom, which took place on 18 January 1884, when he attempted to burn the body of his dead five-month-old son, Jesus Christ Price (in Welsh: Iesu Grist ap Rhees /ˈɪɛsɪ griːst ap r̥iːs/) who had died eight days previously of teething problems. Cremation is the act of reducing a Corpse by burning, generally in a crematorium furnace or crematory fire The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic The infant was the illegitimate son of Price and his housekeeper. In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the As part of his druidic faith, William Price believed that burial was a sin against the earth and felt that cremation was a much better option, even though this was widely thought to be actually illegal in Britain at the time.

Price made no attempt to disguise his actions, and publicly declared that he would burn the body on a pyre of coal on a hillside overlooking Llantrisant. A pyre (from the Greek: πυρά pyrá, from πυρ pýr, fire is a structure usually made of Wood, for burning a body as part of a Llantrisant is a Town in the County borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales When he started to perform the Druidic lamentations, he was watched by a crowd who were largely opposed to the act. Shortly after Price lit the pyre, the corpse was snatched from the flames and Price was arrested for illegal disposal of a body.

Price was prosecuted, but successfully defended himself in February 1884, claiming that "It is not right that a carcass should be allowed to rot and decompose in this way. Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year It results in a wastage of good land, pollution of the earth, water and air, and is a constant danger to all living creatures". He was dressed in his foxskin cap and a white Tunic in court at the time. A tunic is any of several types of Clothing for the body with or without Sleeves and of various lengths reaching from the hips to the ankles The judge at the Cardiff Assizes, Mr Justice Stephen, agreed that, under English law, an action wasn't illegal unless it was specifically proscribed. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. The Court of Assize, or Assizes, is a medieval term for Legal codes (such as Assizes of Jerusalem) that continues to be used in modern times As the existing law made no explicit reference to cremation, the practice was therefore legal. The case set a precedent, which led to the Cremation Act of 1902. In Common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a Legal case establishing a principle or rule that a Court or other judicial Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting In 1885 the first official cremation took place at Woking. Year 1885 ( MDCCCLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Ten cremations then took place in 1886. Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In 1892 a crematorium opened in Manchester, followed by one in Glasgow in 1895 and one in Liverpool in 1896. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year

Death

Before his own death, on the night of January 23, 1893, Price fathered a second son (Born at the end of 1883) and a daughter (Born in 1886) with Gwenllian Llywelyn, his partner. Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common His final words, when he knew that he was near death, were "Bring me a glass of Champagne" (Price normally drank cider). Champagne is a Sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle Secondary fermentation of Wine to effect Carbonation. For the non-alcoholic beverage commonly known in the US as "cider" see Apple cider. He drank the champagne and died shortly after. On January 31, 1893, William Price was cremated on a pyre of two tons of coal, in accordance with his will, on the same hillside overlooking Llantrisant (photo). Llantrisant is a Town in the County borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales It was watched by 20,000 people.

A statue of Price was unveiled in Llantrisant in 1982,^[4] depicting the doctor in his characteristic fox-skin headdress, arms outstretched.

References

• Michell, John (1984) Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions. Thames and Hudson, London. ISBN 0-7474-0353-8
• TheAge article on the life of William Price.
• BBC Wales article on William Price

External links

• Photograph of William Price (in fox-skin, left) with Robert Anderson, 1892
• Ballad of the cremation of Dr William Price, 1893
• Dr. Price at 100 Welsh Heroes