Countries United Kingdom Wales | History by KabAstro

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

King Edward IV and his Yorkist troops are beseeched by a priest to stop the pursuit of their Lancastrian foes who requested sanctuary from the abbey

Henry Tudor's Army Lands

1485-08-07 Henry Tudor's (Henry VII to be) army lands in Milford Haven, South Wales

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

Morgan lands at Panama City

1671-01-27 Welsh pirate Henry Morgan lands at the gates of Panama City

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

Last Invasion of Britain

1797-02-22 The Last Invasion of Britain, launched by the French during the Revolutionary Wars, begins near Fishguard, Wales

French troops surrendering to British forces at Goodwick Sands near Fishguard in Wales. Drawing by James Baker.

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

King of Great Britain and Ireland George III

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

Churchill Leaves for US

1941-08-04 Winston Churchill departs on Prince of Wales to US

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

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)

Di Stéfano's Second Win

1959-12-15 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stéfano wins his second award for best football player in Europe ahead of teammate Raymond Kopa and Juventus' Welsh utility John Charles

Football Player and Coach Alfredo Di Stéfano

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

1966-09-08 The Severn Bridge between England and Wales is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II

The Tragedy of Aberfan

1966-10-21 116 children and 28 adults die as a coal waste heap slides and engulfs a school in Aberfan, South Wales

The rooftops of Pantglas Junior school poke out of the sludge and debris that engulfed it as rescuers continue to hunt for survivors

Music History

1967-08-25 The Beatles go to Bangor, Wales to study transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Music History

1967-08-26 The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, and Donovan meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at a retreat in Bangor, 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

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Lennox Lewis

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