1909 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1909 to Wales
and its people
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Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and its people
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
.
Incumbents
- Prince of WalesPrince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
- George, Prince of WalesGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, son of King Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910... - Princess of WalesPrincess of WalesPrincess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
- Mary of TeckMary of TeckMary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V.... - ArchdruidArchdruidThe Archdruid is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd.The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, The Award of the Prose Medal and Chairing of the Bard. From 1932 only former winners of the...
of the National Eisteddfod of WalesNational Eisteddfod of WalesThe National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
- DyfedEvan Rees (Dyfed)Evan Rees , known by the bardic name Dyfed, was a Calvinistic Methodist minister, poet, and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.-Early life:...
Events
- 16 January - Edgeworth DavidEdgeworth DavidSir Tannatt William Edgeworth David KBE, DSO, FRS, was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter Valley coalfield in New South Wales and leading the first expedition to reach the...
is a member of the expedition which successfully reaches the Magnetic South Pole. - 26 July - 7 August the National Pageant of Wales is held at Cardiff CastleCardiff CastleCardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...
. - August - Noah AblettNoah AblettNoah Ablett was a trade unionist and political theorist who is most noted for writing 'The Miners' Next Step' a Syndicalist treaty which Ablett described as 'scientific trade unionism....
is a founding member of the Plebs' LeaguePlebs' LeagueThe Plebs' League was a British educational and political organisation which originated around Marxist ideals.Central to the formation of the League was Noah Ablett, a miner from the Rhondda who was at the core of a group at Ruskin College, Oxford who opposed the lecturers' opposition to Marxism...
at Ruskin College, Oxford. - October - Monthly rainfall of 56.5 inches is measured at Llyn LlydawLlyn LlydawLlyn Llydaw is a lake in Snowdonia National Park on the flanks of Snowdon, Wales' highest mountain. This long thin lake has formed in a cwm about one-third of the way up the mountain....
, SnowdoniaSnowdoniaSnowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
- a British record. - 29 October - A mining accidentMining accidentA mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
at Darren Colliery, New TredegarNew TredegarNew Tredegar is a former coal mining community in the Rhymney Valley, Caerphilly county borough, Wales , within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire....
, kills 26 men. - Thirty-six men are killed when a trench collapses during construction of the Alexandra Dock part of Newport DocksNewport DocksNewport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, South Wales.-Background:Newport was a small fishing port and market town until the coming of the industrial age at the beginning of the 19th century...
. - King's Dock, part of Swansea DocksSwansea docksSwansea Docks is the collective name for several docks in Swansea, Wales. The Swansea docks are located immediately south east of Swansea city centre. In the mid-19th century the port was exporting 60% of the world's copper from factories situated in the Tawe valley...
, is opened. - Thomas Rees becomes principal of Bala-Bangor Theological College.
- The first mines rescue station in south Wales is opened at AberamanAberamanAberaman is a village near Aberdare in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales.-Schools:*Blaengwawr Comprehensive School *Blaengwawr Primary *Oaklands Primary -Sport:...
. - The Bryn EglwysBryn EglwysBryn Eglwys was a remote slate quarry located near Abergynolwyn in Gwynedd mid-Wales.- History :The quarry was first worked on a small scale in the early 1840s. In 1864 William McConnel leased the quarry, forming the Aberdovey Slate Company Limited. McConnel planned to increase production at Bryn...
slate quarry, the AbergynolwynAbergynolwynAbergynolwyn is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni.Historically, the village was part of Merionethshire and its main industry was slate quarrying and the village was founded in the 1860s to house workers at the nearby Bryn...
estate and village and Talyllyn RailwayTalyllyn RailwayThe Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
are purchased by Sir Henry Haydn JonesHenry Haydn JonesSir Henry Haydn Jones was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.- Upbringing :Henry Haydn Jones was born in Ruthin, Wales. He was the son of Joseph David Jones , a schoolmaster in the town and a respected Welsh musician and composer...
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Awards
- National Eisteddfod of WalesNational Eisteddfod of WalesThe National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
- held in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Chair - T. Gwynn Jones
- Crown - W. J. GruffyddWilliam John GruffyddProfessor William John Gruffydd was a Welsh academic, poet, writer, and politician.-Family and Education:...
New books
- Emrys ap IwanEmrys ap IwanEmrys Ap-Iwan , was born Robert Ambrose Jones in Abergele, Conwy . He was a literary critic and writer on politics and religion. He is often seen as one of the most important forerunners of modern Welsh nationalism.Emrys was the son of a gardener who was employed on a nearby estate...
- Homilïau vol. 2 (posthumous) - Edward ThomasEdward Thomas (poet)Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh writer of prose and poetry. He is commonly considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences. Already an accomplished writer, Thomas turned to poetry only in 1914...
- The South Country
Sport
- BoxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
- 23 August - Freddie WelshFreddie WelshFreddie Welsh was a Welsh lightweight boxing champion. Born in Pontypridd, Wales, and christened Frederick Hall Thomas, he was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a middle-class background to make a name for himself in America...
wins the European lightweight title. - 8 November - Freddie Welsh wins the British lightweight title, and becomes the first Welshman to be awarded a Lonsdale BeltLonsdale beltThe Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...
. - Thomas ThomasThomas Thomas (boxer)Thomas Thomas , was a Welsh boxer, the first British middleweight boxing champion.-Early years:He was born at Glynarthen, Cardiganshire but moved to Carncelyn Farm, Penygraig, in the Rhondda Valley of South Wales at an early age.-Learning the noble art:He began boxing in a sideshow, touring with...
is awarded the first Lonsdale Belt at middleweight.
- 23 August - Freddie Welsh
- Athletics (track and field)Athletics (track and field)Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
- 23 August - Welshman Fred 'Tenby' DaviesTenby DaviesFrederick Charles Davies was a world-class Welsh athlete who was better known to the sporting world as Tenby Davies, and who became the half-mile world professional champion in 1909 after an enthralling race against Irishman Beauchamp Day.-Biography:Frederick Charles Davies was born at South...
beats Irishman Bert Day at Pontypridd to become world champion over the half-mile distance.
- 23 August - Welshman Fred 'Tenby' Davies
- Rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
- Aberdare RLFCAberdare RLFCAberdare Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Aberdare, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union...
, Barry RLFCBarry RLFCBarry Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union...
and Mid-Rhondda RLFCMid-Rhondda RLFCMid-Rhondda Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Tonypandy, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at the Athletic Ground in Tonypandy, Mid-Rhondda were one of the first professional Welsh teams, formed in 1908 but folding after just a single...
fold after just one season. The first Welsh LeagueWelsh LeagueThe Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales. Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournament to take place...
competition is won by Ebbw ValeEbbw Vale RLFCEbbw Vale Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Ebbw Vale, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at Bridge End Field, Ebbw Vale were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and the last to disband in 1912 after the failure of the Welsh...
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- Aberdare RLFC
- Rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
- WalesWales national rugby union teamThe Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
win their second Grand SlamGrand Slam (Rugby Union)In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
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- Wales
Births
- 29 January - George Thomas, 1st Viscount TonypandyGeorge Thomas, 1st Viscount TonypandyThomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy PC was a British Labour Party politician and Speaker of the House of Commons. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, he initially worked as a teacher in both London and Cardiff...
- 30 March - Dai ThomasDai ThomasDavid 'Dai' Thomas was a Welsh rugby union lock who played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Swansea. During the 1934/35 season, Thomas was captain of the Swansea first XV.-Rugby career:...
, Wales national rugby player - 11 June - Ronnie BoonRonnie BoonRonald Winston "Ronnie" Boon was an international rugby union wing for Wales who played club rugby for Cardiff. Boon possessed a tremendous self-confidence in his own ability and this was reflected in his nickname Cocky. Boon was a quick runner, representing Wales at the 220 yard sprint, and was...
, Wales rugby union player - 12 June - Mansel ThomasMansel ThomasMansel Treharne Thomas OBE was a composer and conductor, who worked mainly in south Wales. He was one of the most influential musicians of his generation, known as a composer, conductor and adjudicator. He was for many years employed by the BBC and promoted the careers of many composers and...
, composer and conductor - 28 July - Jack MorleyJack MorleyJohn 'Jack' Cuthbert Morley was a Welsh international rugby wing who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league with Wigan...
, Wales and British Lions rugby player - 25 August - Arwel HughesArwel HughesArwel Hughes OBE , was a Welsh orchestral conductor and composer.Hughes was born in Rhosllannerchrugog near Wrexham and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School and at the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and C. H. Kitson...
, composer - 30 September - Arthur ProbertArthur ProbertArthur Reginald Probert was a British politician. He served as a Labour Member of Parliament from 1954 to 1974....
, politician - 1 October - Jim LangJim Lang (rugby player)Jim Lang was a Welsh international rugby union number 8 who played club rugby for Llanelli and Swansea. Whilst with Llanelli he faced two touring Southern Hemisphere teams, the South Africans in 1931 and New Zealand in 1935.-Rugby career:...
, Wales rugby union player - 24 October - Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-JonesElwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-JonesFrederick Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones CH, PC was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician.-Background and education:...
, politician - 25 October - Walter VickeryWalter VickeryWalter Vickery was an international rugby union back row who represented Wales and played club rugby for Aberavon...
, Wales national rugby player - 7 November - Eirene WhiteEirene WhiteEirene Lloyd White, Baroness White, née Jones was a British Labour politician and journalist....
, politician - 29 November - Goronwy ReesGoronwy ReesGoronwy Rees was a Welsh journalist, academic and writer. He was educated at the University of Oxford.He was during the 1930s a Marxist intellectual, and in contact with the Cambridge Five spy ring through Guy Burgess. Right at the end of his life he admitted spying for the USSR for a short time,...
, journalist and academic - 14 December - Ronald WelchRonald WelchRonald Welch was the pseudonym of British writer Ronald Oliver Felton TD. He took the name from his wartime regiment. He was for many years Headmaster of Okehampton Grammar School in Devon....
, historical novelist - date unknown
- Aneirin Talfan DaviesAneirin Talfan DaviesAneirin Talfan Davies was a Welsh poet, broadcaster and literary critic.Talfan Davies was brought up in Gorseinon. During the 1930s Davies worked in London as a pharmacist before returning to Wales and settling in Swansea. He was the brother of Alun Talfan Davies, with whom he founded the...
, writer and publisher - Isaac Davies (Eic Davies), dramatist
- Evan RobertsEvan Roberts (botanist)Evan Roberts MBE, M.Sc., .Evan Roberts was an internationally known and recognised botanist who lived and worked all his life in Capel Curig , in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, North Wales....
, botanist - Howard ThomasHoward ThomasHoward Thomas CBE was a Welsh-born British radio producer and television executive.-Early career:Thomas began his career typing invoices for a firm of wire-drawers in Manchester. While doing that job, he taught himself to write newspaper articles and short plays...
, radio and television producer
- Aneirin Talfan Davies
Deaths
- 9 January - Frederick Courtenay MorganFrederick Courtenay MorganColonel Frederick Courtenay Morgan was a British Army officer and Conservative politician.-Biography:Morgan was the son of Sir Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar, 3rd Bt., by his wife Rosamund Mundy. Morgan was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1853 and fought in the Crimean...
, politician, 74 - 31 May - Thomas PriceThomas PriceThomas Price was a stonecutter, teacher, lay preacher, businessman, stonemason, clerk-of-works, union secretary, union president and politician...
, Prime Minister of South Australia - 9 June - Walter Rice EvansWalter Rice EvansWalter Rice Evans was a Welsh international rugby union player, who won three caps between 1890 and 1891.-Life:Evans was born in Neath, Glamorgan...
, Wales international rugby player - 1 August - Hugh RowlandsHugh RowlandsGeneral Sir Hugh Rowlands VC, KCB was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, VC recipient - 10 November - George Essex EvansGeorge Essex Evans-Biography:Evans was born in London on 18 June 1863. Both his parents were Welsh. Evans's father, John Evans, Q.C., died in 1864 when Evans was only a few months old. John Evans, who was the Treasurer of the Inner Temple and a member of the House of Commons, left his family a fortune of 60 000...
, Welsh-Australian poet - 11 December - Ludwig MondLudwig MondDr Ludwig Mond , was a German-born chemist and industrialist who took British nationality.-Education and career:...
, industrialist - 13 December - Sir Alfred Lewis JonesAlfred Lewis JonesSir Alfred Lewis Jones , British ship-owner, was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales.At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to the managers of the African Steamship Company at Liverpool, making several voyages to the west coast of Africa. By the time he was twenty-six he had risen to be manager of the...
, shipping magnate - date unknown
- Ivor James, educationist
- Catherine Prichard, poet