Gaining royal favour and high honours and distinction from an early date, bearers of the Williams name have stamped an indelible mark on the pages of the historical record.
From the diverse worlds of politics and literature to the stage, sport and music, some have achieved fame and others notoriety.
The colourful drama that is their stirring lives and times is recorded here.
Born in the hamlet of Gwynfe, Carmarthenshire in 1840, John Williams, more formally known as Sir John Williams, 1st Baronet, was not only a physician to Queen Victoria but also a principal founder of the National Library of Wales, in Aberystwyth.
The son of a Welsh Congregational minister, he was raised to his baronetcy by a grateful Queen Victoria in 1894, while he donated his vast collection of manuscripts, books and prints on Celtic matters as the library's 'foundation collection.'
