1879 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1879 to Wales and its people.

← 1878 1877 1876 1875 1874 1879 in Wales → 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884
Centuries:	17th 18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1879 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Albert Edward
• Princess of Wales – Alexandra

Events

• 13 January – In a mining accident at Dinas Colliery, Ruabon, 63 men are killed.
• 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.[1]
• 1 September – The ballroom of the Lord Nelson Hotel in Milford Haven becomes the first in the UK to be lit by electricity.[2]
• 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.[3] 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.[4]
  • Butter (General) Market in Wrexham opens.[5]
  • Welsh draper D H Evans opens his shop in London's Oxford Street.[6]

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)[7]
• Daniel Owen – Offrymau Neilltuaeth[8]

Music

• Joseph Parry
  • "Aberystwyth" (first published)[9]
  • "Man of Sorrows"
• Edward Stephen – Ail Lyfr Tonau ac Emynau ("The Second Book of Tunes and Hymns")[9]

Sport

• Football
  • 18 January – Wales play England for the first time, at Kennington Oval. Wales lose 2–1, but see their first international goal, scored by William Davies.
  • Newtown win the Welsh Cup in the second year of its existence.
• 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)[10]
• 12 September – Rupert Davies, Welsh-Canadian politician (died 1967)
• 2 October – Idris Bell, papyrologist (died 1967)[11]
• 6 November – George Daggar MP, politician (died 1950)[12]
• 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[13]
• 20 February – John Orlando Parry, actor, pianist, artist, comedian and singer, 69
• 5 March – John Davies of Nercwys, minister and writer, 79[14]
• 28 March – Robert Jones, Anglican priest and writer, 69
• 10 May – Robert Thompson Crawshay, ironmaster, 62
• 14 May – Thomas Nicholas, antiquary, 63[15]
• 13 August – Edward Edwards, zoologist, 75[16]
• 25 August – John Evans, Welsh-born Canadian politician, 63[17]
• 23 September – Francis Kilvert, diarist, 39
• 11 December – William Thomas (Gwilym Marles), minister and writer, uncle of Dylan Thomas, 45[18]

References

1. London Gazette, 2 May 1879. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
2. The Electrician. James Gray. 1879. p. 215.
3. Scarlets official website
4. Great Britain (1901). Local and Personal Laws.
5. The London Gazette. 1879. p. 5255.
6. Gordon Mackenzie (1972). Marylebone: great city north of Oxford Street. Macmillan. p. 80.
7. 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.
8. David Daiches (1971). The Penguin companion to literature: Britain and the Commonwealth. Penguin. p. 407. ISBN 978-0-14-051034-8.
9. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 1953. p. 697.
10. Charles Roger Dod; Robert Phipps Dod (1911). Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited. p. 257.
11. Wales. Druid Press. 1944. p. 103.
12. John Davies. "Daggar, George (1879–1950), trade unionist and Member of Parliament". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
13. "In Memoriam". The Cornishman (48). 12 June 1879. p. 4.
14. Williams, Griffith John. "John Davies". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
15. Jenkins, John Austin (1894). "Nicholas, Thomas (1820-1879)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 40. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 433.
16. Hunt, Robert (1889). "Edwards, Edward (1803-1879)" . 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.]
17. Smith, Dorothy Blakey (1972). "John Evans". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
18. 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.