1879 in Wales
| |||||
| Centuries: |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decades: |
| ||||
| See also: |
| ||||
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1879 to Wales and its people.
Incumbent[]
- Monarch - Victoria
Events[]
- 13 January – In a mining accident at Dinas Colliery, Llantrisant in the Rhondda, 63 men are killed.[1]
- 22–23 January – Rorke's Drift is successfully defended by 139 British soldiers from the South Wales Borderers against an assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors.
- 2 May – Eleven Victoria Crosses are awarded to soldiers active in the defence of Rorke's Drift, the recipients including Privates John Williams and Robert Jones.[2]
- 1 September – The ballroom of the Lord Nelson Hotel in Milford Haven becomes the first in the UK to be lit by electricity.[3]
- 22 September – In a mining accident at Waunllwyd, Ebbw Vale, 84 men are killed.
- 3 October – Pryce Pryce-Jones opens his Royal Welsh Warehouse at Newtown, Montgomeryshire.
- 17 October – Official opening of the Severn Railway Bridge in Gloucestershire (destroyed in 1960).
- 29 November – Stradey Park opens as the home of Llanelli RFC.[4] It remains the home for Llanelli RFC for nearly 130 years, and later for the regional side Scarlets, but closes in November 2008 when the teams' new home, Parc y Scarlets, opens in nearby Pemberton.
- date unknown
- Railway engine drivers and firemen from Griffithstown form a craft union which becomes the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen.
- The Croesor Tramway becomes the Portmadoc, Croesor and Beddgelert Tram Railway.[5]
- Butter (General) Market in Wrexham opens.[6]
- Welsh draper D H Evans opens his shop in London's Oxford Street.[7]
Arts and literature[]
New books[]
English language[]
- D. Walter Thomas & Edward Hughes – The Cymric language
- Brinley Richards – The Songs of Wales (Royal Edition)
Welsh language[]
- Beriah Gwynfe Evans – Owain Glyndwr (play)[8]
- Daniel Owen – Offrymau Neilltuaeth[9]
Music[]
- Joseph Parry
- "Aberystwyth" (first published)[10]
- "Man of Sorrows"
- Edward Stephen – Ail Lyfr Tonau ac Emynau ("The Second Book of Tunes and Hymns")[10]
Sport[]
- Football
- Rugby union
- 18 January – Treherbert RFC play Cardiff for the first time.
- Brecon RFC and Ebbw Vale RFC are founded.
- Tennis – The first tennis club in Wales is formed by the Newport Athletic Club.
Births[]
- 1 January
- Ernest Jones, psychiatrist (died 1958)
- Willie Llewellyn, Wales international rugby union (died 1973)
- 15 March – David John Thomas, Wales international rugby union (died 1925)
- 7 April – Philip Turnbull, hockey player (died 1930)
- 23 June – Percy Bush, Wales international rugby union player (died 1955)
- 8 August – Arthur Harding, Wales international rugby union captain (died 1947)
- 28 August – Edward E. Clive, actor (died 1940 in Hollywood)
- 29 August – Donough O'Brien, cricketer (died 1953)
- 3 September – Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans, botanist (died 1968)
- 4 September – Eliot Crawshay-Williams, politician and writer (died 1962)[11]
- 12 September – Rupert Davies, Welsh-Canadian politician (died 1967)
- 2 October – Idris Bell, papyrologist (died 1967)[12]
- 6 November – George Daggar MP, politician (died 1950)[13]
- 9 November – S. O. Davies, politician (died 1972)
- 27 November – Dick Jones, Welsh international rugby player (died 1958)
Deaths[]
- 22 January – John Vivian, MP, English-born member of the Vivian family, 60[14]
- 20 February – John Orlando Parry, actor, pianist, artist, comedian and singer, 69
- 5 March – John Davies of Nercwys, minister and writer, 79[15]
- 28 March – Robert Jones, Anglican priest and writer, 69
- 10 May – Robert Thompson Crawshay, ironmaster, 62
- 14 May – Thomas Nicholas, antiquary, 63[16]
- 13 August – Edward Edwards, zoologist, 75[17]
- 25 August – John Evans, Welsh-born Canadian politician, 63[18]
- 23 September – Francis Kilvert, diarist, 39
- 11 December – William Thomas (Gwilym Marles), minister and writer, uncle of Dylan Thomas, 45[19]
References[]
- ^ "Dinas Colliery Explosion – Llantrisant – 1879". Northern Mine Research Society. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ London Gazette, 2 May 1879. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ The Electrician. James Gray. 1879. p. 215.
- ^ Scarlets official website
- ^ Great Britain (1901). Local and Personal Laws.
- ^ The London Gazette. 1879. p. 5255.
- ^ Gordon Mackenzie (1972). Marylebone: great city north of Oxford Street. Macmillan. p. 80.
- ^ Professor Philip Schwyzer; Professor Willy Maley (28 April 2013). Shakespeare and Wales: From the Marches to the Assembly. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-4094-7566-8.
- ^ David Daiches (1971). The Penguin companion to literature: Britain and the Commonwealth. Penguin. p. 407. ISBN 978-0-14-051034-8.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 1953. p. 697.
- ^ Charles Roger Dod; Robert Phipps Dod (1911). Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited. p. 257.
- ^ Wales. Druid Press. 1944. p. 103.
- ^ John Davies. "Daggar, George (1879–1950), trade unionist and Member of Parliament". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ "In Memoriam". The Cornishman (48). 12 June 1879. p. 4.
- ^ Williams, Griffith John. "John Davies". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ Jenkins, John Austin (1894). "Nicholas, Thomas (1820-1879)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 40. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 433.
- ^ Hunt, Robert (1889). . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 17. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
sources: [Athenæum, No. 2706, 6 Sept. 1879; information from friends in Anglesea, and from Edwards's son, Mr. John R. Edwards of Liverpool.]
- ^ Smith, Dorothy Blakey (1972). "John Evans". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ David Jacob Davies. "THOMAS, WILLIAM (Gwilym Marles; 1834–1879), Unitarian minister, social reformer, writer, and schoolmaster". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
Categories:
- 1879 in Wales
- 1879 by country