1959 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1959 to Wales
and its people
.
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...
– The Prince CharlesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay... - 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...
– vacant - Archbishop of WalesArchbishop of WalesThe post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England , and disestablished...
– Edwin MorrisAlfred Edwin MorrisAlfred Edwin Morris was the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales in the middle of the 20th century. After World War I service with the RAMC he went up to St John’s College, Oxford. Ordained in 1924 he became Professor of Hebrew and Theology at St David's College, Lampeter, holding the... - 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 :...
– William Morris
Events
- October – Aneurin BevanAneurin BevanAneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
is elected deputy leader of the Labour Party. - 8 October – At the UK general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1959This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
:- Newly-elected MPs include John MorrisJohn Morris, Baron Morris of AberavonJohn Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC is a retired British politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament from 1959 to 2001 and Secretary of State for Wales from 1974 to 1979.-Background and education:...
(Aberavon); Donald BoxDonald BoxDonald Stewart Box was a Welsh stockbroker and Conservative Party politician.-Early and military career:...
(Cardiff North); Ifor DaviesIfor DaviesIfor Davies was a Welsh Labour Party politician.Davies was educated at Gowerton School, Swansea Technical College and Ruskin College, Oxford. He was an industrial personnel officer and served as a councillor on Glamorgan County Council, representing Gowerton 1958-61...
(Gower) and Geraint MorganGeraint MorganWilliam Geraint Oliver Morgan, QC, MP, was a British Conservative Party politician, a lawyer, a champion of the Welsh language and a veteran of the Second World War....
(Denbigh). - Poet Waldo WilliamsWaldo WilliamsWaldo Williams was one of the leading Welsh language poets of the twentieth century. He was also a notable pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist.-Life:...
stands as a Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
candidate. - Hugh DaltonHugh DaltonEdward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947, when he was implicated in a political scandal involving budget leaks....
retires from Parliament.
- Newly-elected MPs include John Morris
- The Queen makes the red dragon on a green and white background the official Flag of WalesFlag of WalesThe Flag of Wales consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist....
. - The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and is the senior cavalry regiment, and therefore senior regiment, of the line of the British Army...
(informally known as the "Welsh Cavalry" is formed. - Sir William Jones resigns from the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire in protest at the appointment of Henry BrookeHenry Brooke, Baron Brooke of CumnorHenry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor CH, PC was a British Conservative Party politician.-Political career:...
. - The Local Government Commission for Wales is set up, chaired by Sir Guildhaume Myrddin-Evans.
- Will PaynterWill PaynterWilliam Thomas Paynter was a Welsh miners' leader involved in the hunger marches of the 1930s.Paynter was born in Cardiff, where he had a basic education before going to work at a colliery at the age of fourteen. By the age of eighteen, he was working on the coal-face, and soon joined the...
becomes Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers. - Thomas ParryThomas Parry (author)Sir Thomas Parry was a Welsh author and Academic. He was Librarian of the National Library of Wales from 1953 to 1958, and Principal of the University College of Wales Aberystwyth from 1958 to 1969. The Thomas Parry Library located on Aberystwyth University's Llanbadarn Campus was named in his...
becomes Principal of University of Wales, AberystwythUniversity of Wales, AberystwythAberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
. - Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, sells his holdings in Kemsley Newspapers to Roy Thomson.
Arts and literature
- Harry SecombeHarry SecombeSir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
is voted Show Business Personality of the Year. - Sir Lewis CassonLewis CassonSir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
and Dame Sybil ThorndikeSybil ThorndikeDame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary by appearing together in Eighty in the Shade, a play written especially for them. - Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
is the first Welsh singer to hit number one in the UK pop charts, with "As I Love You".
Awards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in CaernarfonCaernarfonCaernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – T. Llew JonesT. Llew JonesThomas Llewelyn Jones was a Welsh language writer who, over a writing career of more than 50 years, was one of the most prolific and popular authors of children's books in Welsh. He wrote, and was generally known, as T. Llew Jones.- Biography :T. Llew Jones was born at 1 Bwlch Melyn, Pentrecwrt,...
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – Tom Huws
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – William OwenWilliam OwenSir William Francis Langer Owen, KBE, PC , Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia....
New books
- Albert Evans-JonesAlbert Evans-JonesSir Cynan Evans-Jones CBE , more commonly known within Wales by his bardic name of Cynan, was a Welsh poet and dramatist.-Early life:...
– Cerddi Cynan, y casgliad cyflawn - Menna GallieMenna GallieMenna Patricia Humphreys Gallie was a Welsh novelist and translator.She was born in Ystradgynlais. She married the philosopher W. B...
– Strike for a Kingdom - D. Gwenallt JonesD. Gwenallt JonesGwenallt , poet, critic, and scholar, was one of the most important figures of 20th-century Welsh-language literature.-Early life:...
– Gwreiddiau - Edgar PhillipsEdgar PhillipsEdgar Phillips , known by the bardic name "Trefin", was a Welsh poet and served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1960 until his death....
– Edmund Jones, "The Old Prophet" - Kate Roberts – Te yn y Grug
- Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
– My Philosophical Development
Film
- Rachel ThomasRachel ThomasRachel Thomas OBE , was a Welsh character actress, well known to film and television audiences.Born in the village of Alltwen, near Pontardawe, Wales, she appeared in such classic films as The Proud Valley with Paul Robeson, Blue Scar and Tiger Bay...
, Meredith EdwardsMeredith Edwards (actor)Gwilym Meredith Edwards was a Welsh character actor and writer.He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, the son of a collier. He became an actor in 1938, first with the Welsh National Theatre Company, then the Liverpool Playhouse...
and Megs JenkinsMegs JenkinsMuguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.-Life and career:...
appear with John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
and Hayley MillsHayley MillsHayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
in Tiger BayTiger Bay (film)Tiger Bay is a 1959 British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and produced and co-written by John Hawkesworth. It stars John Mills as a police superintendent who investigates a murder, his daughter Hayley Mills, in her first major film role, as a girl who witnesses the murder, and Horst...
. - Hugh GriffithHugh GriffithHugh Emrys Griffith was a Welsh film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Griffith was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, Wales, the son of Mary and William Griffith. He was educated at Llangefni County School and attempted to gain entrance to university, but failed the English examination...
wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his role in Ben-Hur.
Broadcasting
- Statistics show that 50% of households in Wales have television licences.
- The BBC Third ProgrammeBBC Third ProgrammeThe BBC Third Programme was a national radio network broadcast by the BBC. The network first went on air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in Britain, playing a crucial role in disseminating the arts...
becomes available on VHF from WenvoeWenvoeWenvoe is a Welsh village between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby is the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse Cross in the suburbs of Cardiff.-History:...
.
Welsh-language television
- Lili Lon (children's programme)
- Trysor O Gan (Treasury of Song)
Sports
- AthleticsAthletics (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...
– The Welsh Games are held for the first time. - 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...
– Former world flyweight champion Jimmy WildeJimmy WildeJimmy Wilde , was a Welsh world boxing champion. He was the first official world flyweight champion and was rated by American boxing writer Nat Fleischer, as well as many other professionals and fans including former boxer, trainer, manager and promoter, Charley 'Broadway' Rose, as "the greatest...
is elected to the American Boxing Hall of Fame. - BBC Wales Sports Personality of the YearBBC Wales Sports Personality of the YearThe BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year is a televised sporting competition, broadcast on BBC Two every year; and the most prestigious annual sport award in Wales. It was first awarded in 1954, and is currently organised by BBC Cymru Wales...
– Graham MooreGraham Moore (footballer)Graham Moore is a Welsh former football player. During a 16 year playing career, he made over 400 appearances in The Football League, scoring 61 goals, and attained 21 caps for Wales.-Early life:...
Births
- 25 February – Mike PetersMike Peters (musician)Mike Peters is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer of The Alarm. He currently lives in Dyserth, North Wales with his family. After The Alarm split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, which he has been releasing under the name "The Alarm" since 2000...
, musician - 21 March – Colin Jones, boxer
- 3 May – Eddie NiedzwieckiEddie NiedzwieckiEddie Niedzwiecki is a retired Welsh footballer of Polish origin who played as a goalkeeper for Wrexham and Chelsea.Starting at Wrexham at the age of 14, Niedzwiecki stayed with the club until the summer of 1983, when he was signed for Chelsea by former Wrexham manager, John Neal...
, footballer - 8 May – Jillian EvansJillian EvansJillian Evans is Plaid Cymru Member of the European Parliament for Wales and First Vice President of The Greens–European Free Alliance group - the fourth largest in the European Parliament...
MEPMember of the European ParliamentA Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
, politician - 17 May – Paul WhitehousePaul WhitehousePaul Whitehouse is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders...
, comedian - 20 May – Annabel GilesAnnabel GilesAnnabel Giles has been a model, a television and radio presenter, an actress, a comedienne and a novellist during her career .-Career:...
, model - 28 May – Steve StrangeSteve StrangeSteve Strange , is a Welsh pop singer, best known as the lead singer and frontman of the 1980s pop group Visage...
, singer - 18 June – Jocelyn DaviesJocelyn DaviesJocelyn Davies is a Plaid Cymru politician and a member of the National Assembly of Wales, list member for South Wales East since 1999. She was Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration...
AM, politician - 5 September – Mike RuddockMike RuddockMike Ruddock, OBE is a Welsh rugby union coach, currently coach of the Ireland Under-20 Rugby Union Team and Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the coach of the Worcester Warriors until his resignation on 28 April 2010 following their relegation from the Guinness Premiership...
, rugby coach - 26 November – Dai DaviesDai Davies (politician)David Clifford Davies, commonly known as Dai Davies, was the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Member of Parliament for the Blaenau Gwent constituency in South Wales from 2006 to 2010...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, politician
Deaths
- 1 January – Dan JonesDaniel Jones (rugby player)Daniel "Dan" Jones was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Aberavon and international rugby for Wales. He is notable as being the first player to represent Aberavon at international level...
, Wales international rugby player, 83 - 13 January – Henry WealeHenry WealeHenry Weale VC 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:...
, Victoria Cross recipient - 3 February – Sir Evan Williams, Baronet, industrialist
- 21 February – Kathleen FreemanKathleen Freeman (classicist)Kathleen Freeman was a British classical scholar and author of detective novels....
, classical scholar, 61 - 3 March – Billy BancroftBilly BancroftBilly Bancroft was a Welsh international fullback who played club rugby for Swansea and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, becoming their first professional player in 1895....
, rugby and cricket player, 88 - 21 April – David BellDavid Bell (artist)Ernest David Bell was an English-born writer and curator, who was a controversial figure in Welsh arts by challenging the country's artistic heritage, but was also a supporter of young Welsh talent in the field of contemporary arts in the 20th century.-Personal history:Bell was born in 1915 in...
, writer and curator (b.19151915 in WalesThis article is about the particular significance of the year 1915 to Wales and its people.-Incumbents:*Prince of Wales - Edward, Prince of Wales, son of King George V of the United Kingdom*Princess of Wales - vacant...
) - 26 May – Thomas Baker JonesThomas Baker JonesThomas Baker Jones was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby union for Newport. Jones was capped six times for Wales and was the first player to score recognised international points for the national team....
, Wales international rugby player, 96 - 18 June – Nantlais WilliamsNantlais WilliamsWilliam Nantlais Williams , better known simply as Nantlais, was a Welsh poet and a Presbyterian Christian leader during the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival.- Background :...
, poet and preacher, 84 - 23 July – George DaviesGeorge Davies (rugby player)George Davies was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Llandeilo and Swansea. A two time Triple Crown winner, Davies would represent his country on nine occasions. A skillful player, Davies was unfortunate to be playing during the same period as Rhys Gabe, who was...
, international rugby player, 83 - 5 August – D. W. DavisD. W. DavisDavid William Davis was the 12th Governor of Idaho, serving from 1919 to 1923.Davis was born in Cardiff, Wales. His family immigrated to the United States in 1875, and settled in Rippey, Iowa...
, Governor of Idaho, 86 - 6 September – Edmund GwennEdmund GwennEdmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...
, actor, 83 - 15 October – Thomas Wynford ReesThomas Wynford ReesThomas Wynford Rees CB, CIE, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was an officer in the British Indian Army during World War I, the interwar years, World War II, and post-war.-Early life and career:The son of the Reverend T. M...
, army officer, 61 - 27 November – Grenville MorrisGrenville MorrisArthur Grenville Morris was a Welsh footballer who played for Nottingham Forest and Swindon Town, and who was also capped by Wales. Usually just known as Grenville Morris, he was born in Builth Wells, Wales...
, footballer, 81 - 28 December – David Brazell, singer