 As a philanthropist, he established the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial to combat tuberculosis in Wales, as well as the Wilson Chair of International Politics at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.Davies was born in Llandinam, Montgomeryshire, the first child of Edward Davies and May Jones.His father was the only son of David Davies, often known as David Davies Llandinam, was the greatest Welsh industrialist of the Victorian era, having made his fortune in the coal mines.