1920 in Wales
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| See also: | List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history
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Incumbents
- Prince of Wales – Edward
- Princess of Wales – vacant
- Archbishop of Wales – Alfred George Edwards, Bishop of St Asaph (from 31 March)
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Dyfed
Events
- 22 January - Grant of the royal charter founding the University of Wales, Swansea.[1]
- 31 March - The Welsh Church Act 1914 and Welsh Church (Temporalities) Act 1919 come into force, resulting in the creation of the Church in Wales[2] after disestablishment, and appointment of the first Archbishop of Wales. The new Diocese of Monmouth is created.
- September - Report of the departmental committee on the organisation of secondary education in Wales, chaired by William Napier Bruce.
- 9 November - In a notorious murder trial at Carmarthen, solicitor Harold Greenwood is found not guilty of poisoning his wife.[3]
- 3 December - Five crew members from the Rhoscolyn lifeboat are lost off Llanddwyn, Anglesey.[4]
- 21 December - 1920 Rhondda West by-election: William John retains the seat for Labour after the resignation of William Abraham.
- Mortimer Wheeler becomes Director of the National Museum of Wales.
- More people are employed in the coal industry in Wales in this year than ever before or since.
- Opening of the Queen's Dock at Swansea Docks.[5]
- Explorer Edgeworth David and civil servant George Lewis Barstow are knighted.
- Hugh Evan-Thomas becomes an admiral.
- Sale of the Downing Hall estate at Whitford, the former home of Thomas Pennant.
Arts and literature
- January - Y Winllan is launched, with Edward Tegla Davies as editor.[6]
- Ifan ab Owen Edwards becomes editor of the children’s paper, Cymru’r Plant, originally launched by his father Owen Morgan Edwards.
- Controversy arises when T. H. Parry-Williams is appointed to the new Chair of Welsh Language at the University of Wales, because of his history of pacifism.[7]
- Margaret Haig Thomas launches the periodical Time and Tide.[8]
Awards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Barry)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld[9]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - James Evans
New books
- Caradoc Evans - My Neighbours
- John Jenkins (Gwili) - Poems
- Thomas Mardy Rees - Difyrwch Gwyr Morgannwg[10]
- Thomas Frederick Tout - The Captivity and Death of Edward of Caernarvon
Music
- Evan Thomas Davies becomes the first director of music at University of Wales, Bangor.
- Margaret Hughes sings at the Aeolian Hall under her stage name of "Leila Megane".
Film
- Ivor Novello appears in Miarka: The Daughter of the Bear[11]
Broadcasting
- 22 March - A full duplex commercial service begins operating from the Towyn radio receiving station, and C. S. Franklin develops an improved anti-interference antenna design.
Sport
- Rugby Union
- 17 January - In a 19-5 win over England, Jerry Shea achieves the first international scoring "Full House"; try, penalty goal, conversion and drop goal. A feat not repeated until 1950.[12]
- 17 February - Wales beat France 6–5 at the Stade Colombes in Paris
Births
- 16 January – Walley Barnes, footballer (d. 1975)
- 23 February – Ron Berry, writer (d. 1997)
- 25 March – Arthur Lever, international footballer (d. 2004)
- 12 April – The Cox Twins, music hall entertainers (d. (Frank) 2007 and (Fred) 2013)
- 5 May – Sir Glanmor Williams, historian (d. 2006)[13]
- 7 May – Tommy Davies, middleweight boxer (d. 1998)
- 13 May – Gareth Morris, flautist, brother of Jan Morris (d. 2007)[14]
- 6 September – Trevor Morris, football player and manager (d. 2003)
- 7 September – Harri Webb, poet (d. 1994)
- 8 October – Frank Herbert, science fiction novelist of Welsh ancestry (d. 1986)
- 31 October – Dick Francis, jockey and crime novelist (d. 2010)
- 10 November – Peter Philp, antiques expert and dramatist (d. 2006)
- 11 November – Roy Jenkins, politician (d. 2003)
- 20 November – Len Blyth, Wales international rugby player (d. 1995)
- 2 December – George Edwards, international footballer (d. 2008)
- 23 December – Tommy Best, footballer (d. 2018)
- 18 December – Merlyn Rees, politician (d. 2006)[15]
Deaths
- 11 January – Pryce Pryce-Jones, entrepreneur, 85
- 16 January – Evan Rowland Jones, politician, 79[16]
- 21 February – Anna Thomas (Morfudd Eryri), poet and campaigner for the Eisteddfod, 81
- March – John Thomas, footballer, age unknown[17]
- 11 March – Daniel James (Gwyrosydd), poet, 73[18]
- 5 May – Robert Bryan, poet and composer, 61
- 15 May – Owen Morgan Edwards, historian and educationist, 61[19]
- 5 June – Rhoda Broughton, novelist, 79
- 7 June – Hugh Ellis-Nanney, politician, 75[20]
- 9 August – Samuel Walker Griffith, prime minister of Queensland, 75
- 1 September – Frederick Rutherfoord Harris, politician, 64
- 30 November – John Meredith, Wales national rugby player, 57
References
- ^ "Swansea University marks 90th anniversary". BBC News. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Norman Doe (2002). The Law of the Church in Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7083-1748-8.
- ^ Colin Wilson; Patricia Pitman (1962). Encyclopedia of Murder. G.P. Putnam's sons. p. 240.
- ^ Ken Radford (1982). Tales of North Wales. Skilton & Shaw. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-284-98614-6.
- ^ George Augustus Nokes; John Francis Gairns (1925). The Railway Year Book. Railway Publishing Company, Limited. p. 176.
- ^ National Library of Wales (1969). Annual Report. p. 34.
- ^ Kenneth O. Morgan (1981). Rebirth of a Nation: Wales, 1880-1980. Oxford University Press. pp. 182. ISBN 978-0-19-821736-7.
- ^ Michelle Elizabeth Tusan (2005). Women Making News: Gender and Journalism in Modern Britain. University of Illinois Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-252-03015-4.
- ^ "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 3 October 2019.
- ^ Harvard University. Library (1970). Celtic literatures: classification schedule, classified listing by call number, chronological listing, author and title listing. Distributed by the Harvard University Press.
- ^ Claude Summers (24 April 2012). The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, and Musical Theater. Cleis Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-57344-875-8.
- ^ Dai Smith; Gareth Williams (1 January 1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union, 1881-1981. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-0766-3.
- ^ D Ben Rees (25 March 2006). "Sir Glanmor Williams". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ "Gareth Morris". The Telegraph. 10 March 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ Edward Pearce (5 January 2006). "Lord Merlyn-Rees". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ ‘JONES, Major Evan Rowland’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 [1] (subscription required)
- ^ Denis Clarebrough & Andrew Kirkham (2008). Sheffield United Who's Who. Hallamshire Press. p. 314. ISBN 978-1-874718-69-7.
- ^ David Myrddin Lloyd. "James, Daniel (Gwyrosydd; 1847-1920), poet". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ Robert Thomas Jenkins. "Edwards, Sir Owen Morgan (1858-1920), man of letters". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- ^ L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 76.