Wales Changed the World
From the first industrial nation to the technology behind the internet — Wales has always punched above its weight.
By 1851, Wales was the world's first industrial nation — the first country where more people worked in industry than agriculture. Swansea smelted one-third of the world's copper. North Wales produced one-third of global roofing slate. Merthyr's ironworks powered the British Empire. We invented the ball bearing, the hydrogen fuel cell, packet switching for the internet, and the eight-hour workday. We gave the world Viagra, radar, and the first mail-order business. Given that legacy, Wales should be among the world's wealthiest nations. It isn't — yet. Cymru Compass exists to help every Welsh business get found, because the next chapter of Welsh innovation starts with the businesses we have today.
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Packet Switching
Donald Davies built it in Wales — the technology that makes the internet work.
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Ball Bearing
Philip Vaughan, 1794.
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Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Sir William Grove, 1842.
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First Passenger Railway
Mumbles Railway, 1807.
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Mail-Order Business
Pryce Pryce-Jones, Newtown, 1861.
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Copper Capital
Swansea smelted one-third of the world's copper.
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Slate Capital
North Wales roofed the world — now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Eight-Hour Day
Robert Owen from Newtown pioneered the cooperative movement.
41,000+ Welsh businesses are listed here. The next great Welsh innovation could be one of them.