Events in Wales History

Battle of Menai Straits

1282-11-06 Battle of Menai Straits (Moel-y-don): forces of Edward I defeated as they try to cross a pontoon bridge during their reconquor of Wales

• 1282-12-11 Llywelyn ab Gruffydd the last native and independent Prince of Wales is killed at the Battle of Orewin Bridge at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales by forces of Edward I of England. Reigned from 1259 and is known as Llywelyn the Last.
• 1283-10-03 Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, Wales, becomes the first person executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered
• 1284-03-03 Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England

First Prince of Wales

1301-02-07 Edward of Caernarfon (later Edward II) becomes the first English Prince of Wales

• 1400-09-16 Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers

King Henry V

1413-03-21 Henry of Monmouth, Prince of Wales, becomes King Henry V of England upon the death of his father

Battle of Tewkesbury

1471-05-04 Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York: Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster killed and King Edward IV returns to his throne, restoring political stability to England until his death in 1483

Henry Appointed Heir Apparent

1503-02-18 Henry Tudor (later Henry VIII) appointed Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the English throne

Ship Money

1634-10-20 King of England Charles I levies the "Ship Money" tax on all English and Welsh counties

Charles II

1649-02-05 Prince of Wales proclaimed King Charles II of Great Britain by Covenanter Parliament of Scotland

• 1671-01-28 Welsh pirate Henry Morgan captures Panama City from its Spanish defenders
• 1682-09-14 Bishop Gore School, one of the oldest schools in Wales, founded
• 1689-03-16 The 23rd Regiment of Foot or Royal Welch Fusiliers is founded. In 2004 it merged with the Royal Regiment of Wales to form the Royal Welsh Regiment.
• 1696-02-27 English/Welsh nobles lay down Oath of Association
• 1707-05-01 Acts of Union comes into force, uniting England and Scotland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain
• 1737-07-31 Prince Frederick of Wales escapes English court

Cook Reaches the Bering Straits

1778-08-09 Captain James Cook reaches Cape Prince of Wales, Bering Straits

• 1797-02-24 Colonel William Tate and his force of 1,000-1,500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain (according to legend, to Welsh women in tall black hats, mistaken for elite guards regiment)
• 1804-02-21 The world’s first steam locomotive, built by Richard Trevithick, runs for the first time along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
• 1807-03-25 First fare-paying, passenger railway service in the world established on the Oystermouth Railway in Swansea, Wales

George Made Prince Regent

1811-02-05 Prince George, Prince of Wales, later George IV, is appointed as Prince-Regent after his father King George III is recognized as insane due to mental illness

• 1826-01-30 The Menai Suspension Bridge connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the northwest coast of Wales opens, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge

Reform Act

1831-03-01 Lord John Russell introduces the Reform Bill in the British House of Commons on the government's behalf to revamp the electoral system of England and Wales and increase the franchise

Reform Act Passed

1832-03-22 British Parliament, led by Charles Grey, passes the Reform Act, introducing wide-ranging changes to electoral system of England and Wales, increasing electorate from about 500,000 voters to 813,000

• 1850-03-05 The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the Isle of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened
• 1859-10-26 Steam clipper Royal Charter is wrecked on the coast of Anglesey, Wales;, in a storm that took down over 100 vessels; approximately 450 passengers and crew killed on voyage returning to Liverpool from Australia
• 1860-08-25 Tubular Victoria Bridge across the St Lawrence River at Montreal is officially opened by the Prince of Wales - an engineering wonder of the day [1]

First Royal Visits the US

1860-09-20 First British royalty to visit US, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII)

• 1865-07-27 Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.
• 1872-03-11 Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain
• 1874-06-22 Game of lawn tennis introduced by Welsh Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, introducing a rubber ball to bounce on grass
• 1876-03-25 Glasgow 1st soccer match Scotland defeat Wales (4-0)
• 1880-04-24 Amateur Athletic Association, governing body for men's athletics in England & Wales, is founded in Oxford, England
• 1884-01-18 Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (Welsh for Jesus Christ) Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom
• 1884-08-28 MLB pitcher Mickey Welsh makes record for most consecutive batters struck out to begin a game, striking out the 1st 9 men he faces
• 1890-03-04 Longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge (railway) at 1,710 ft in length is opened in Scotland by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII
• 1890-11-04 Prince of Wales opens first underground station at Stockwell, South London
• 1895-11-05 Edward, Prince of Wales, says "We are all Socialists nowadays"
• 1896-01-16 Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire.
• 1900-04-04 Assassination attempt on Prince of Wales, later British King Edward VII when shot by Jean-Baptiste Sipido in protest over Boer war
• 1900-04-05 Attempted assassination of Edward Prince of Wales in Brussels, fails
• 1901-05-24 Seventy-eight miners die in the Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales
• 1904-04-05 The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh & Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
• 1906-09-12 The Newport Transporter Bridge is opened in Newport, South Wales by Viscount Tredegar.
• 1920-04-01 The (Anglican) Church in Wales disestablished
• 1925-08-05 Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language, which is in danger of dying out

Earhart 1st Woman to Fly Across Atlantic

1928-06-18 American aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean (as a passenger), landing at Burry Port, Wales

• 1934-09-22 An explosion takes place at Gresford Colliery in Wales, leading to the deaths of 266 miners and rescuers
• 1941-01-02 World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales

• 1941-12-10 British battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse (Force Z) sunk following Japanese aerial attacks off Malaya. 840 men die
• 1942-06-23 World War II: Germany's latest fighter, a Focke-Wulf FW190 is captured intact when it mistakenly lands at RAF Pembrey in Wales
• 1955-12-20 Cardiff is proclaimed the capital city of Wales
• 1958-07-18 6th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Cardiff, Wales
• 1958-08-18 United Kingdom issues regional stamps (N Ireland, Scotland & Wales)

Music Concert

1963-11-04 John Lennon utters his famous quip at a Royal Variety Performance "For our last number, I'd like to ask your help. The people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And for the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry…" at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London

• 1965-12-12 The Beatles' last concert in Great Britain at Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Wales

Event of Interest

1969-07-01 Investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales is watched by large crowds in Caernarfon, Wales and by millions on television

• 1969-12-18 House of Lords votes to abolish the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland (Northern Ireland 25 July 1973)
• 1970-05-23 A fire breaks out in the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Straits in north Wales contributing to its partial destruction and causing approximately £1,000,000 worth of fire damage
• 1972-02-26 Ireland-Wales Five Nations Rugby match scheduled for Lansdowne Road, Dublin is cancelled because of escalating political situation; Championship not completed for first time since World War II
• 1972-09-01 Welshman Richard Meade representing Great Britain and riding Laurieston grabs the equestrian individual and team 3-day event gold medals at the Munich Olympics
• 1974-04-01 In England, "Local Government Act 1972" redraws the administrative map and creates six new Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties; Newport and Monmouthshire transferred from England to Wales
• 1974-07-01 Monmouthshire renamed Gwent and becomes part of Wales
• 1979-08-14 Rainbow seen in Northern Wales for a 3 hours duration
• 1989-05-07 Mark Merrony (Wales) cycles for 30 mins in Nepal at 21,030 feet
• 1990-02-06 Steve Briers of Wales recites entire lyrics of Queen's album "A Night At The Opera" in 9 minutes 58.44 seconds backwards!

Boxing Title Fight

1993-10-01 In his first World Boxing Council heavyweight title defense Lennox Lewis beats fellow Londoner Frank Bruno by TKO in 7 at the National Stadium in Cardiff, Wales

David Campese

1996-12-01 Flamboyant Australian rugby union winger David Campese ends his 15-year, 101 Test career at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales; Wallabies beat Wales, 28-19; Campese scores record 64 career tries

• 1997-01-21 An inquiry in North Wales names more than 80 child abusers

• 1997-09-18 Voters in Wales vote yes (50.3%) in a referendum on Welsh autonomy
• 2002-10-27 The British ITV Network airs a regional service for the last time in England and Wales, LWT loses its identity completely
• 2007-07-01 England bans smoking in all public indoor spaces: with the ban already in force in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this means it is illegal to smoke in indoor public places anywhere in the UK. Australia implements a similar ban.
• 2008-06-01 Jason Koumas captains Wales for the first time
• 2008-12-08 Kirsty Williams elected as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. The first female leader of a political party in Wales.
• 2009-12-19 Former Welsh and Lions captain Gareth Thomas is the first international rugby player to reveal he is gay
• 2011-03-30 Global credit information group Experian report that economic recovery in Wales slower than the rest of the UK, forecasting growth of 1.6% vs 2.2% for the rest of the UK
• 2013-03-16 Wales routs England by a record 30-3 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to retain their Six Nation Rugby Championship; Welsh winger Alex Cuthbert scores 2 tries and fullback Leigh Halfpenny lands 4/4 penalties
• 2018-05-07 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Welshman Mark Williams beats John Higgins of Scotland, 18-16; as promised, does his press conference in the nude
• 2019-01-21 A light aircraft carrying EPL team Cardiff City's record signing Emiliano Sala of French club FC Nantes disappears near the Channel islands en route to Wales
• 2019-09-14 Former Welsh rugby union and league player Gareth Thomas reveals he is HIV positive
• 2020-03-13 Elite football in Britain, including England's Premier League, EFL, Women's Super League plus in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is suspended until at least 3 April because of COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021-01-03 Welshman Gerwyn Price wins his first PDC World Darts Championship; beats Gary Anderson of Scotland, 7-3 at the Alexandra Palace in London
• 2022-11-03 A Swiss gruyère by Vorderfultigen and Gourmino wins best cheese at the World Cheese Awards in Newport, Wales [1]
• 2022-11-29 For the first time fewer than half of people in England and Wales call themselves Christian according to the 2021 Census [1]
• 2022-12-15 Tens of thousands of nurses go on strike in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in largest strike in NHS history [1]

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