Tom Williams (rugby union, born 1859)
| Birth name | Thomas Williams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 9 October 1859 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Llwynypia, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 4 February 1913 (aged 52–53) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Llwynypia, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Willie Llewellyn, nephew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | solicitor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thomas Williams (9 October 1859 – 4 February 1913) was a Welsh rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and Pontypridd and international rugby for Wales. A solicitor by profession, Williams would later become a national selector for the Welsh Rugby Union. Williams was also responsible for suggesting the singing of the Welsh national anthem in a match in 1905, the first time a national anthem was sung before a sporting event.
Williams was born in Llwynypia into a farming community in the Rhondda Valley and in his early years he lived in at the Tonypandy Inn. A solicitor by trade, he trained for his profession in Pontypridd, probably under Spicketts. Williams was the uncle of Wales international and British Lion Willie Llewellyn.