My friend Chris Williams, who has died of a heart attack aged 61, was a historian of Wales and its radical traditions who rose to be head of the school of history, archaeology and religion at Cardiff University and then head of Celtic studies and social sciences at University College Cork. He also wrote about Welsh history, including in his book Democratic Rhondda (1996), but was perhaps best known for his editing of the posthumous diaries of the Welsh actor Richard Burton.
His 2012 edition of the diaries did not please those who wanted them to include only tittle-tattle: typically, Chris aimed to ensure that Burton’s life and background were thoroughly explained and contextualised; it was the work of a real scholar.
