1900 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1900 to Wales and its people.

← 1899 1898 1897 1896 1895 1900 in Wales → 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
Centuries:	17th 18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1900 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Albert Edward
• Princess of Wales – Alexandra
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Hwfa Môn[1]

Events

• 6 January – In Merionethshire, for the first time in centuries, the sword of the Gorsedd bards is solemnly unsheathed. "The chief bard invoked the blessing of God on British arms in South Africa, and announced that the sword would not be sheathed again till the triumph of the forces of righteousness over the hordes of evil."[2]
• 3 January – Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert almost capsizes while being floated out of dry dock at Pembroke Dock on completion of her construction.[3]
• 4 April – An anarchist shoots at the Prince of Wales during his visit to Belgium for the birthday celebrations of the King of Belgium.
• 14 May – A pedestrian tunnel is opened under the River Ely from Cardiff to Penarth Dock.[4]
• June – The Royal Welch Fusiliers form the largest contingent in the multinational coalition forces helping to relieve the siege of Peking during the Boxer Rebellion.
• 1 June – Colwyn Bay Pier opened.
• 9 July – The Dowlais Iron Company and Arthur Keen's Patent Nut and Bolt Company merged to form Guest, Keen & Co. Ltd.
• August – Taff Vale Railway strike.
• 10 September – The German steamship, Stormarn, and the Gordon Castle collide in fog in Cardigan Bay with the loss of 20 lives.
• 26 September - 24 October – United Kingdom general election, in which:
  • Keir Hardie is elected for Merthyr Tydfil, one of the first Labour MPs in Britain;[5]
  • Frederick Rutherfoord Harris becomes Conservative MP for Monmouth Boroughs;
  • Francis Edwards regains Radnorshire for the Liberals;
  • George Newnes becomes MP for Swansea Town;
  • Edward James Reed regains Cardiff;
  • Sir Henry Morton Stanley retires from Parliament.
• 7 November – The steamer City of Vienna sinks off Swansea with the loss of 20 crew members. There is one survivor.
• 22 November – Beginning of the long-running Penrhyn Quarry industrial dispute.
• 28 December – The barque Primrose Hill is wrecked on South Stack off Holyhead, with the loss of 33 lives.[6]
• The 'Long Bridge' at Risca, formerly part of the Monmouthshire Canal, is demolished.
• The Aberdare Canal is closed as economically unviable.[7]
• A small zoo in Victoria Park, Cardiff, opens.[4]
• The United States census figures show a Welsh immigrant population totalling 93,744, plus 173,416 children — an all-time high.

Arts and literature

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales – held in Liverpool
  • Chair – John Owen Williams, "Y Bugail"[8]
  • Crown – John Thomas Job, "Williams Pantycelyn"[9]

New books

• Owen Morgan Edwards – Tro yn Llydaw
• David Brynmor Jones and John Rhys – The Welsh People
• Allen Raine – Garthowen
• Ernest Rhys – The Whistling Maid
• Silyn Roberts and W. J. Gruffydd – Telynegion
• Bertrand Russell – A Critical Exposition of the Philosophy of Leibniz

Music

• Sir Walford Davies – Four Songs of Innocence[10]

Sport

• 24 February – Association football – Wales lose 2–0 to Ireland in Llandudno.[11]
• Rugby union – Wales win the Triple Crown.
• Yachting – Cardiff Yacht Club is formed in Butetown.

Births

• 18 January – Idris Jones Wales rugby union international (died 1971)
• 23 January – William Ifor Jones, conductor (died 1988)[12]
• 9 February – David Williams, historian (died 1978)
• 19 April – Richard Hughes, novelist (died 1976)[13]
• 2 June – David Wynne, composer (died 1983)[14]
• 30 June – Idwal Jones, politician (died 1982)
• 27 August – Frank Moody, British boxing champion (died 1963)
• 2 September – Bobby Delahay, Wales rugby union captain (died 1978)
• 1 November – Eiluned Lewis, writer (died 1979)
• 12 November – Thomas Hollingdale, Wales rugby union international (died 1978)
• 28 November – Trevor Roberts, 2nd Baron Clwyd, lawyer (died 1987)
• date unknown – Horace Williams, footballer (died 1960)

Deaths

• 20 January – R. D. Blackmore, English novelist of Anglo-Welsh parentage, 74[15]
• 22 January – David E. Hughes, musician and professor of music, 68
• 26 February – Daniel Grey, doctor and footballer, 51
• 22 March – Thomas Charles Edwards, Presbyterian leader, 62
• 10 May – Philip Ellis, Tractarian, 77
• 14 June – Catherine Gladstone (née Glynne), wife of British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, 88[16]
• 19 September – Anne Beale, novelist, 84
• 9 October – John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, owner of Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, 53[17]
• 12 December (in Edinburgh) – William Williams, veterinary surgeon, 68

References

1. Hywel Teifi Edwards (20 July 2016). The Eisteddfod. University of Wales Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-78316-914-6.
2. The Annual Register, 1900, p. 2
3. "Pembroke Dock Community Website". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
4. "Cardiff Time Line". Cardiffians. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
5. Raymond Grant (1978). The Parliamentary History of Glamorgan, 1542-1976. C. Davies. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7154-0381-5.
6. "The Shipwreck of the Primrose Hill in 1900 off South Stack, Holyhead". Anglesey Môn Information Website. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
7. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1908). Parliamentary Papers: 1850-1908. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 269.
8. "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 3 October 2019.
9. "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 12 December 2019.
10. "Four Songs of Innocence". British Music Collection. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
11. Hayes, Dean (2006). Northern Ireland International Football Facts. Belfast: Appletree Press. p. 156. ISBN 0-86281-874-5.
12. Alfred Victor Frankenstein; Sigmund Gottfried Spaeth; John Townsend Hinton Mize (1951). The International who is who in Music. Who is Who in Music, Incorporated, Limited. p. 242.
13. Olive Ely Hart (1928). The Drama in Modern Wales: A Brief History of Welsh Play-writing from 1900 to the Present Day. University of Pennsylvania. p. 44.
14. Gerald Norris (June 1981). A musical gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland. David & Charles. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-7153-7845-8.
15. Max Keith Sutton (1979). R. D. Blackmore. Twayne Publishers. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8057-6756-8.
16. Anne Isba (24 August 2006). Gladstone and Women. A&C Black. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-85285-471-3.
17. John Davies (1981). Cardiff and the Marquesses of Bute. University of Wales Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-7083-0761-8.