Ballinger, John, 1860-1933

Sir John Ballinger was born on May 12, 1860, in Pontnewynydd, near Pontypool, Monmouthshire, Wales.

He was the first librarian of the National Library of Wales. He attended the elementary school in Canton, Cardiff, but had left school by the age of fourteen. He received a year of private education and attended evening classes while looking for employment. In 1875, at the age of fifteen, Ballinger became an assistant at the Cardiff Free Library and later at the Swansea Public Library. In 1880, he was appointed librarian at the public library in Doncaster, Yorkshire. He built his reputation and began writing a column, "About books," in the local newspaper, The Doncaster Chronicle. Ballinger returned to Cardiff in 1884, becoming a librarian at the Cardiff Free Library. When the movement began to press for a National Library in Wales, Ballinger became its first librarian in 1909, a position he held until his retirement in May 1930.

Ballinger made a name for himself both as a librarian and bibliographer. Although he was not a Welsh-speaking Welshman, he must be credited with the formation of a good Welsh library in Cardiff. In 1922, he served as president of the Library Association and chairman of the Press Board of the University of Wales. Ballinger received an honorary M.A. from the University of Wales in 1909, a CBE in 1920, an honorary Fellow of the Library Association in 1929, a knighthood in 1930 and the Medal of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion in 1932.

In 1888, he married Amy Amelia Boughton (1864–1933). He died on January 8, 1933, in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales.