From a Welsh Galileo to Somali Culture, This Is the Heritage That Shaped Wales; from the Welshman Who Observed the Moon at the Same Time as Galileo to the Family Who Were the First to Provide the Royal Navy with Steam Coal, Wales Is Awash with Lost Stories of Historical Achievement. Nowamajor Investment Will Help Uncover the Country's Lesser-Known Legends

Byline: Aled Blake reports

GALILEO GALILEI may have been more familiar with the moon than most of his contemporaries, but he had probably never heard of Carmarthenshire. So, in all likelihood, he would have been unaware that, as he gazed into the heavens, his activities were being emulated by the distinguished scholar Sir William Lower at his family home in Trefenty.

Sir William worked closely with Thomas Harriott, who, in 1609, produced the UK's first telescope - just a year after Galileo did the same.

And Wales' contribution to the embryonic space race didn't end there.

In the 1850s, Swansea's John Dillwyn Llewellyn took one of the earliest photographs of the moon from the Penllergaer Observatory - which he built for his daughter's 16th birthday.

A couple of decades later came the birth of celestial photography, by Denbigh-born Isaac Roberts - arguably the most important contribution to science by a man named Isaac since a certain Mr Newton sat underneath an apple tree.

The technique, which captured star clusters and nebulae and detailed interstellar gas clouds and galaxies, was pioneered in 1888.

With his technology, Roberts was the first person to identify the spiral shape of the Andromeda Nebula - Earth's neighbouring galaxy.

But Denbigh was not only the home to pioneering scientists such as Isaac Roberts.

From being a residence for royal princes to a refuge for a Royalist garrison during the Civil War - in fact Denbych translates as small fortress - the small market town has had a colourful history dating back before the Normans.

The town is first mentioned in records in the years following the Norman Conquest when it became a border town guarding the approach to the Hiraethog Hills and Snowdonia.

The town has a history of esteemed residents. One of many Denbigh men who were well regarded during the …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: From a Welsh Galileo to Somali Culture, This Is the Heritage That Shaped Wales; from the Welshman Who Observed the Moon at the Same Time as Galileo to the Family Who Were the First to Provide the Royal Navy with Steam Coal, Wales Is Awash with Lost Stories of Historical Achievement. Nowamajor Investment Will Help Uncover the Country's Lesser-Known Legends. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales). Publication date: February 25, 2009. Page number: 18. © 2009 MGN Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.