• 1846: Built the foundations for a bridge over the river Severn and the approaching road at Llandinam.
• 1855: Built the first section of the railway between Llanidloes and Newtown.
• 1859: The railway between Llanidloes and Newtown is opened.
• 1862: David Davies went with Benjamin Piercy to Sardinia, when the engineer was invited to advise the company given the concession for railways on that island.
• 1864: David Davies leased land in the Upper Rhondda Valley and founded the Parc and Maendy collieries.
• 1867: The private company, ‘David Davies and Co’, was formed.
• Other pits were sunk, namely Dare, Western and Eastern, Garw and Lady Windsor by the Ocean Merthyr company, chaired by David Davies.
• 1874: He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Cardiganshire.
• 1875: He was one of the first governors of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and was elected treasurer, a post he held until 1887.
• 1887: The output of the collieries had incresed so much it was decided to set up a new company, ‘The Ocean Coal Company Ltd’.
• 1886: He lost his parliamentary seat after disagreeing with the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, over Home Rule for Ireland.
• 1889: After campaigning for years for a new dock at Barry and a new railway connection there from the Rhondda, he completed this project.
‘The simple virtues of his youth of penury were unspoilt by the great wealth which he acquired and which he distributed to religious and educational causes and deserving individuals with a generous hand.’ – Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, Dictionary of Welsh Biography