1859 in Wales explained

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1859 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
• Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire – John Lloyd Vaughan Watkins^{[5] [6]}
• Lord Lieutenant of Caernarvonshire – Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 10th Baronet^[7]
• Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire – Edward Pryse^[8]
  • Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire – John Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire – Robert Myddelton Biddulph^[9]
• Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire – Sir Stephen Glynne, 9th Baronet^[10]
• Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan – Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot^[11]
• Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire – Robert Davies Pryce^[12]
• Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire – Capel Hanbury Leigh^[13]
  • Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire – Thomas Hanbury-Tracy, 2nd Baron Sudeley Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire – Sir John Owen, 1st Baronet^[14]
• Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire – John Walsh, 1st Baron Ormathwaite^{[15] [2]}
• Bishop of Bangor – Christopher Bethell (until 9 April); James Colquhoun Campbell (from 14 June)^{[16] [17]}
• Bishop of Llandaff – Alfred Ollivant^[18]
• Bishop of St Asaph – Thomas Vowler Short^{[19] [20]}
• Bishop of St Davids – Connop Thirlwall^{[21] [22] [23]}

Events

• January - Y Brython changes from weekly to monthly publication.
• February - First race at Bangor-on-Dee racecourse.
• 1 April - Opening of the Corris Railway.
• 5 April - 27 men are killed by flooding at Neath Chain Colliery.
• 31 May - U.K. general election. This is the last general election in which the Conservative Party's vote share in Wales exceeds that in England.
• 29 June - Benjamin Hall is raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Llanover.
• 15 October–17 October - Queen Victoria stays at Penrhyn Castle.
• 25 October–26 October - 'Royal Charter Storm':
  • Steam clipper Royal Charter is wrecked off the north-east Anglesey coast, with the estimated loss of around 459 lives, the greatest loss of life in any maritime accident in Welsh waters.^[24]
  • St Brynach's Church, Cwm-yr-Eglwys, is destroyed.
• Peak year for copper production in Wales.
• The final stage of the East Bute Dock, Cardiff, is completed and opened.
• Merger of Yr Amserau and Baner Cymru.
• Religious revival led by Humphrey Jones.
• The Cymanfa Ganu movement is launched in Aberdare.^[25]
• Sir Charles Morgan, 3rd Baronet, is created Baron Tredegar.^[26]

Arts and literature

Awards

• Lewis William Lewis (Llew Llwyfo) wins the chair at the Merthyr Tydfil eisteddfod.^[27]

New books

• Hugh Hughes (Tegai) - Y Drydedd Oruchwyliaeth^[28]
• Nathaniel Jones - Fy Awenydd
• Richard Parry (Gwalchmai) - Adgofion am John Elias^[29]
• Thomas Stephens & Gweirydd ap Rhys - Orgraff yr Iaith Gymraeg^[30]
• William Thomas (Gwilym Marles) - Prydyddiaeth

Music

• John Roberts (Ieuan Gwyllt) - Llyfr Tonau Cynulleidfaol^[31]

Births

• 11 January - Sir Joseph Alfred Bradney, historian (died 1933)^[32]
• 29 January - Sir George Lockwood Morris, industrialist and Welsh international rugby player (died 1947)^[33]
• 7 February - Frank Hancock, Wales international rugby union international (died 1943)
• 16 February - T. E. Ellis, politician (died 1899)^[34]
• 18 April - Sir Evan Davies Jones, 1st Baronet, civil engineer (died 1949)
• 4 May - Sir Samuel Thomas Evans, politician and judge (died 1918)
• 22 May - Jonathan Ceredig Davies, travel writer (died 1932)
• 17 July - Ernest Rhys, writer (died 1946)^[35]
• 11 Oct – Aneurin Williams, politician (died 1924)
• 5 December - Edward John Lewis, Wales international rugby union player (died 1925)
• 7 December - Leonard Watkins, Wales international rugby union player (died 1901)
• 25 December - John Goulstone Lewis Wales international rugby union player (died 1935)
• November - Richard Bell, politician (died 1930)

Deaths

• 19 January - Charles Vachell, alderman and former mayor of Cardiff, 75^[36]
• 19 April – Christopher Bethell, Bishop of Bangor, 85^[37]
• 20 May - Thomas Penson the younger, county surveyor of Denbighshire, 69^[38]
• 21 June - John Bowen, Bishop of Sierra Leone, 43 (yellow fever)^[39]
• 8 July - John Thomas (Siôn Wyn o Eifion), poet, 78
• 10 September - Sir John Hay Williams, landowner, 65^[40]
• 24 September – Joseph Murray Ince, painter, 53
• October - Evan Jones (Ifan y Gorlan), harpist

See also

• 1859 in Ireland

Notes and References

1. Book: Edward Breese. Kalendars of Gwynedd; or, Chronological lists of lords-lieutenant [&c.] ... for the counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth. 1873. 24.
2. Book: J.C. Sainty . John Sainty (civil servant) . List of Lieutenants of Counties of England and Wales 1660-1974 . Swift Printers (Sales) Ltd . London . 1979.
3. Book: Nicholas, Thomas . Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales . Genealogical Pub. Co . Baltimore . 1991 . 9780806313146 . 695.
4. Book: Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru. University of Wales Press. 1992. 169.
5. News: Editorial. 17 January 2022. Welshman. 6 October 1865.
6. Book: Edwin Poole. The Illustrated History and Biography of Brecknockshire from the Earliest Times to the Present Day: Containing the General History, Antiquities, Sepulchral Monuments and Inscriptions. Edwin Poole. 1886. 378.
7. Book: Edward Breese. Kalendars of Gwynedd; or, Chronological lists of lords-lieutenant [&c.] ... for the counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth. 1873. 26.
8. Book: Thomas John Hughes. The Welsh magistracy, by Adfyfr. South Wales and Monmouthshire Liberal Federation Offices. 1887. 5.
9. Web site: Myddelton Biddulph, Robert (1805-1872), of Chirk Castle, Denb. and 35 Grosvenor Place, Mdx.. History of Parliament Online. 5 December 2021.
10. Web site: Glynne, Sir Stephen Richard, 9th bt. (1807-1874), of Hawarden Castle, Flint. History of Parliament Online. 16 January 2022.
11. Web site: TALBOT, Christopher Rice Mansel (1803-1890), of Penrice Castle and Margam Park, Glam.. History of Parliament Online. 18 January 2022.
12. Book: Edward Breese. Kalendars of Gwynedd; or, Chronological lists of lords-lieutenant [&c.] ... for the counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth. 1873. 29.
13. Book: Amy Audrey Locke. The Hanbury Family. Arthur L. Humphreys. 1916. 147.
14. Web site: Thorne . R.G. . John Owen (1776-1861) of Orielton, Pembrokeshire . History of Parliament . 27 March 2020.
15. Book: Jonathan Williams. The History of Radnorshire. R. Mason. 1859. 115.
16. Book: Fryde, E. B. . Handbook of British chronology . New York Cambridge University Press . Cambridge England . 1996 . 9780521563505 . 292.
17. Book: Thomas Duffus Hardy. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae: Or A Calendar of the Principal Ecclesiastical Dignitaries in England and Wales.... University Press. 1854. 305.
18. Book: Frederick Arthur Crisp. Joseph Jackson Howard. Visitation of England and Wales. 1898. 15.
19. Book: Nicholas Harris Nicolas. The historic peerage of England: Revised, corrected, and continued ... by William Courthope. John Murray. 1857. 533.
20. Book: The Apostolical Succession in the Church of England. James Parkes and Company. 1866. 15.
21. Book: Old Yorkshire, volume 3. 1882. 90.
22. Book: Thomas Duffus Hardy. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae: Or A Calendar of the Principal Ecclesiastical Dignitaries in England and Wales.... University Press. 1854. 307.
23. Book: The Monthly Review Or Literary Journal Enlarged. Porter. 1780. 95.
24. Web site: Carradice . Phil . The great storm of 1859 . BBC Wales . 10 April 2019.
25. Book: Gareth Williams. Valleys of Song: Music and Society in Wales 1840-1914. 1998. University of Wales Press. 978-0-7083-1480-7. 38–39.
26. Book: Thomas Nicholas. Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales: Containing a Record of All Ranks of the Gentry ... with Many Ancient Pedigrees and Memorials of Old and Extinct Families. 1872. Longmans, Green, Reader. 785.
27. s-LEWI-WIL-1831. Lewis, Lewis William (Llew Llwyfo; 1831-1901), poet, novelist, and journalist. David Gwenallt Jones. 1959. 26 January 2022.
28. Hughes, Hugh (1805-1864). 28.
29. Book: Harvard University Library. Celtic literatures: classification schedule, classified listing by call number, chronological listing, author and title listing. 1970. Distributed by the Harvard University Press. 78.
30. arc_s-STEP-THO-1821. Stephens, Thomas (1821-1875), antiquary and literary critic. David Jacob Davies. 1959. 26 January 2022.
31. Book: Geraint H. Jenkins. A Concise History of Wales. 2007. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-82367-8. 209.
32. Book: Arthur Charles Fox-Davies. Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-armour. 1910. T.C. & E.C. Jack. 178.
33. Book: Who was who: a companion to Who's who : containing the biographies of those who died during the period. registration. 1967. A. & C. Black. 816.
34. s-ELLI-EDW-1859. Ellis, Thomas Edward (1859-1899), M.P. for Merioneth (1886-99) and chief Liberal whip (1894-5). Thomas Iorwerth Ellis. Thomas Iorwerth Ellis. National Library of Wales. 13 March 2019.
35. s-ELLI-EDW-1859. Rhys, Ernest (Percival) (1859-1946), poet, author, and editor. William Llewelyn Davies. National Library of Wales. 26 January 2022.
36. News: Births, Marriages, and Deaths . The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian . (Glamorgan, Monmouthshire and Breconshire) . 5 . 22 January 1859 . Welsh Newspapers Online .
37. Book: Joseph Haydn. Haydn's Dictionary of Dates Relating to All Ages and Nations: For Universal Reference. 1866. E. Moxon and Company. 76.
38. Colvin H. A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840. Yale University Press 3rd ed 1995, pages 748-49
39. Book: Bowen. John. Memorials of John Bowen, late Bishop of Sierra Leone;. 1862. James Nisbet. London. 1 April 2017.
40. Book: Joseph Jackson Howard. Frederick Arthur Crisp. Visitation of England and Wales. 1905. Privately printed. 12.