1979 in Wales
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| See also: | List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history
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This article is about the particular significance of the year 1979 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents
- Prince of Wales – Charles
- Princess of Wales – vacant
- Secretary of State for Wales – John Morris (until 5 May); Nicholas Edwards
- Archbishop of Wales – Gwilym Williams, Bishop of Bangor
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Geraint
Events
- 1 March - The devolution referendum rejects the Wales Act 1978 (which would have established a Welsh Assembly) by four to one. The Parliamentary Select Committee on Welsh Affairs is subsequently established.[1]
- 18 May - Annie Powell of Rhondda becomes Britain's first Communist mayor.[2]
- 7 June - In the elections for the European Parliament, Ann Clwyd and Win Griffiths are among the newly elected MEPs. Plaid Cymru win no seats.
- 8 June - A Cessna aircraft crashes into a mountain in Snowdonia, killing all six occupants.
- 12 December - Four holiday homes in rural Wales are the target of arson attacks by Welsh Nationalist political activists.
Arts and literature
Awards
- Michael Bogdanov is named "Director of the Year" for the Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Taming of the Shrew.
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Caernarfon)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Meirion Evans
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Robyn Lewis
New books
English language
- Gillian Clarke - The Sundial
- Wendy Davies - The Llandaff Charters
- Christopher Evans - The Mighty Micro
- Emyr Humphreys - The Best of Friends
- Sian James - A Small Country
- Tristan Jones - The Incredible Voyage
- Anna Kashfi - Brando for Breakfast
- Leslie Norris - Sliding
- Gwyn Alf Williams - The Merthyr Rising
- Raymond Williams - The Fight for Manod
Welsh language
- Pennar Davies - Mabinogi Mwys[3]
- Marion Eames - I Hela Cnau
- Dic Jones - Storom Awst
- John Rowlands - Tician, Tician
Music
- Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary (album)
- Bonnie Tyler - Diamond Cut (album)
Film
- Rachel Roberts wins the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Yanks.
- Emlyn Williams' play, The Corn is Green, is filmed for the second time, starring Katharine Hepburn.
Broadcasting
- BBC Radio Cymru is launched.
- New Home Secretary William Whitelaw rejects the idea of a Welsh fourth channel on behalf of the Conservative government.
English-language television
- Colin Jeavons stars in Dennis Potter's classic play, Blue Remembered Hills.[4]
Sport
- Boxing - Pat Thomas wins the British Light-middleweight title
- Rugby union - Wales win the Five Nations Championship and take the Triple Crown.
- Snooker - Terry Griffiths wins the World Championship in his first year as a professional.[5]
Births
- 21 February – Laura Anne Jones AM, politician
- 26 February – Steve Evans, footballer
- 15 April - Luke Evans, actor
- 17 May – Michaela Breeze, weightlifting champion[6]
- 3 June – Christian Malcolm, athlete[7]
- 4 June – Celyn Jones, actor
- 13 July – Craig Bellamy, footballer
- 1 August- Honeysuckle Weeks, actress
- 8 August – Danny Gabbidon, footballer
- Jonathan Edwards, poet
Deaths
- January – Dilys Cadwaladr, poet, 76
- 7 February – Charles Tunnicliffe, painter on Anglesey, 77[8]
- 13 February – Eric Newton Griffith-Jones, Welsh-descended lawyer, 65[9]
- 13 March – Tudor Owen, actor, 81[10]
- 15 April (in Surrey) – Eiluned Lewis, novelist, 78[11]
- 14 May – Jean Rhys, novelist, 88
- 9 June – John Morris, Baron Morris of Borth-y-Gest, judge, 82
- 16 July – Harold Finch, politician, 81[12]
- 30 August – C. E. Wynn-Williams, physicist, 76
- 2 September – Ewan Davies, rugby player, 92[13]
- 10 October (in Teddington) – Christopher Evans, computer scientist, 48[14]
- 12 October – Jackie Williams, footballer, 76
- November – Ursula Williams, politician, 83[15]
- 12 December – Goronwy Rees, writer, 70?[16]
- 20 December - Leslie Gilbert Illingworth, political cartoonist, 77
- 21 December – Nansi Richards, harpist, 91[17]
- 29 December – Richard Tecwyn Williams, biochemist, 70[18]
- date unknown
- Hugh Bevan, academic
- Dilys Davies, actress
- Trebor Lloyd Evans, writer[19]
- Jennie Thomas, children's author
- probable – William Evans, rugby player, about 88
See also
References
- ^ Governing the UK in the 1990s. Macmillan International Higher Education. 20 March 1995. pp. 214. ISBN 978-1-349-23899-6.
- ^ Milorad M. Drachkovitch; Lewis H. Gann (1980). Yearbook on International Communist Affairs. Hoover Institution Press. p. 160.
- ^ Studia Celtica. University of Wales Press. 1983.
- ^ W. Stephen Gilbert (1 January 2002). The Life and Work of Dennis Potter. The Overlook Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-4683-0561-6.
- ^ "Profile: Terry Griffiths". Eurosport. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ "Michaela Breeze". Beijing 2008 results. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Christian Malcolm". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Birds. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 1980.
- ^ Graya: A Magazine for Members of Gray's Inn, Issue 73, Gray's Inn, 1979
- ^ Scott Wilson (17 August 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 569. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
- ^ Who was who. A. & C. Black. 1971. p. 467.
- ^ John Graham Jones. "Finch, Harold Josiah (1898-1979),Labour politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ scrum.com profile
- ^ The Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. 1979. p. 11.
- ^ "Deaths." Times [London, England] 5 Dec. 1979: 28. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
- ^ "Goronwy Rees (1909-1979)". From Warfare to Welfare. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ Evans, Nia Gwyn (2016). "Jones, Nansi Richards ('Telynores Maldwyn ') (1888-1979), harpist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ "Williams, (Richard) Tecwyn". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31837. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Robert Tudur Jones (2004). Congregationalism in Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-1887-4.