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
- Secretary of State for Wales – John Morris (until 5 May);[1] Nicholas Edwards[2]
- Archbishop of Wales – Gwilym Williams, Bishop of Bangor[3]
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Geraint[3]
Events
- Select Committee on Welsh Affairs is subsequently established.[4]
- 7 June - In the elections for the European Parliament, Ann Clwyd and Win Griffiths are among the newly elected MEPs. Plaid Cymruwin no seats.
- 8 June - A Cessna aircraft crashes into a mountain in Snowdonia, killing all six occupants.
- Welsh Nationalistpolitical 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[7]
- 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
- .
- The Corn is Green, is filmed for the second time, starring Katharine Hepburn.
- A full-scale model of the fictional starship Millennium Falcon is constructed by Marcon Fabrications in the Western Sunderland Flying Boat hangar at Pembroke Dock for the film The Empire Strikes Back (1980).[8]
Broadcasting
- BBC Radio Cymru is launched.
- New Home Secretary William Whitelawrejects 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.[9]
Sport
- BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Terry Griffiths[10]
- 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.[11]
Births
- 15 February – Josh Low, footballer
- AM, politician
- Steve Evans, footballer
- Luke Evans, actor
- 17 May – Michaela Breeze, weightlifting champion[12]
- 3 June – Christian Malcolm, athlete[13]
- 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[14]
- Eric Newton Griffith-Jones, Welsh-descended lawyer, 65[15]
- 13 March – Tudor Owen, actor, 81[16]
- 14 May – Jean Rhys, novelist, 88
- , judge, 82
- 16 July – Harold Finch, politician, 81[18]
- 30 August – C. E. Wynn-Williams, physicist, 76
- 2 September – Ewan Davies, rugby player, 92[19]
- 12 October – Jackie Williams, footballer, 76
- November – Ursula Williams, politician, 83[21]
- 12 December – Goronwy Rees, writer, 70?[22]
- Leslie Gilbert Illingworth, political cartoonist, 77[23]
- 21 December – Nansi Richards, harpist, 91[24]
- 29 December – Richard Tecwyn Williams, biochemist, 70[25]
- date unknown
- Hugh Bevan, academic
- Dilys Davies, actress
- Trebor Lloyd Evans, writer[26]
- Jennie Thomas, children's author
- probable – William Evans, rugby player, about 88
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-521-56350-5.
- ^ "Lord Crickhowell obituary". The Guardian. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-349-81511-1.
- ISBN 978-1-349-23899-6.
- ^ Milorad M. Drachkovitch; Lewis H. Gann (1980). Yearbook on International Communist Affairs. Hoover Institution Press. p. 160.
- ^ Waddington, Marc (2020-08-14). "On this day in 1979 North Wales set an unusual world record". North Wales Live. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ Studia Celtica. University of Wales Press. 1983.
- ^ Parry, Nick (2005-05-18). "Town's secret Star Wars history". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ISBN 978-1-4683-0561-6.
- ^ "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Profile: Terry Griffiths". Eurosport. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ "Michaela Breeze". Beijing 2008 results. Archived from the original on 2008-09-09. 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
- 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.
- ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
- ^ Evans, Nia Gwyn (2016). "Jones, Nansi Richards ('Telynores Maldwyn ') (1888-1979), harpist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31837. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-0-7083-1887-4.