1906 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1906 to Wales and its people.

← 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1906 in Wales → 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1906 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales - George (later George V)
• Princess of Wales - Mary
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Dyfed

Events

• 13 February - In the United Kingdom general election:
  • For the first time ever, no Conservative MP is elected in Wales.[1]
  • William Brace becomes Labour MP for South Glamorganshire.
  • David Davies becomes Liberal MP for Montgomeryshire.
  • Ivor Guest becomes Liberal MP for Cardiff District.
  • Alfred Mond becomes Liberal MP for Chester.
  • John David Rees becomes Liberal MP for Montgomery District.
  • Ivor Treowen becomes MP for South Monmouthshire.
  • John Williams becomes MP for Gower District.
• 5 June - At the Eifion by-election, brought about by the resignation of John Bryn Roberts, Liberal candidate Ellis Davies is elected unopposed.[2]
• 27 June - One of the strongest earthquakes recorded in the UK strikes Swansea with a strength of 5.2 on the Richter Scale, damaging several buildings.[3]
• August - Evan Roberts suffers a breakdown, signalling the end of the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival.[4]
• 14 August - The East Denbighshire by-election, brought about by the resignation of Samuel Moss, is won by the Liberal candidate Edward Hemmerde.[5]
• 30 August - Official opening of Fishguard Harbour.
• 12 September - Opening of Newport Transporter Bridge.[6]
• October
  • The new City Hall, Cardiff, and Law Courts are opened in Cathays Park.[7]
  • Opening of the first purpose-built sanatorium in Wales, at Allt-yr-yn, Newport.[8]
  • A by-election is held in Mid Glamorganshire as a result of the appointment of its MP, Samuel Evans, as Recorder of Swansea; he is required to seek re-election and in the by-election he is returned unopposed.[9]
• date unknown
  • David Brynmor Jones is knighted.[10]
  • Hydro-electricity is generated for the first time in Wales, at Cwm Dyli in Gwynedd.[11]
  • Anglican Benedictine monks arrive at Caldey Island to found a community.
  • The South Wales Miners' Federation affiliates to the Labour Party.

Arts and literature

• Ernest Rhys becomes editor of Everyman's Library.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales - held in Caernarfon
  • Chair - John James Williams (J. J.), "Y Lloer"[12]
  • Crown - Hugh Emyr Davies

English language

• Arthur Machen – The House of Souls
• W. J. Parry – The Cry of the People
• Allen Raine – Queen of the Rushes
• Edward Thomas - The Heart of England

Welsh language

• Owen Morgan Edwards - Clych Adgof
• Sarah Winifred Parry – Sioned: darluniau o fywyd gwledig yng Nghymru (book publication)
• Eifion Wyn - Telynegion Maes a Mor[13]

Music

• The Welsh Folk Song Society is co-founded by soprano Mary Davies.[14]
• David Vaughan Thomas - The Knight's Burial

Theatre

• 10 December - The New Theatre, Cardiff, opens to the public, with a performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[15]

Sport

• Boxing
  • 23 May - Tom Thomas wins the British middleweight title.
• Rugby union
  • Wales finish second in the 1906 Home Nations Championship, beating England and Scotland, but losing to Ireland.
  • 1 December - Wales lose 11-0 to South Africa in the first encounter between the two countries.
• Tennis - For the first and only time, a Davis Cup final is played in Wales. The United States defeat Australia at Newport.

Births

• 10 January - Tom Arthur, Wales international rugby player
• 16 January - Watcyn Thomas, rugby player (died 1977)
• 19 February - Grace Williams, composer (died 1977)[16]
• 4 March - Tommy Jones-Davies, Wales international rugby player (died 1960)
• 15 March - Bill Everson, Wales international rugby player (died 1966)
• 4 April - John Roberts Wales international rugby player (died 1965)
• 24 April - Leslie Thomas, politician (died 1971)
• 25 June - Roger Livesey, actor (died 1976)
• 27 June - Vernon Watkins, poet (died 1967)[17]
• 12 July - Archie Skym, international rugby union player
• 15 July - Herbert Edmund-Davies, Baron Edmund-Davies, judge (died 1992)
• 16 October - Maudie Edwards, actress (died 1991)
• 18 November - Nigel Birch, Baron Rhyl, politician (died 1981)[18]
• 8 December - Richard Llewellyn, novelist (died 1983)[19]

Deaths

• 6 January - Emrys ap Iwan, writer, 54
• 25 March - Gwilym Williams, judge, 66
• 24 June - Henry Dennis, industrialist, 80
• 24 July - John Edwards (Meiriadog), poet, 93
• 4 September - William Bowen Rowlands, politician[20]
• 16 September - Robert Llugwy Owen, minister and writer, 69
• 22 September - Griffith Arthur Jones, Anglican priest, 78[21]
• 21 October - Griffith Jones (Glan Menai), writer, 70
• 25 November - William W. Davies, Mormon leader, 73
• 30 November - Sir Edward James Reed, politician, 76[22]
• 30 December - William Stadden, Wales international rugby player, 45 (suicide)[23]
• date unknown - John William Evans, politician, 36

References

1. Bentley B. Gilbert (1987). David Lloyd George: a political life : the architect of change, 1863-1912. B.T. Batsford. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-7134-5558-8.
2. Iain Dale (2003). The Times Guides to the House of Commons: 1910, 1911, 1919. Politico's. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-84275-034-6.
3. Charles Davison (30 July 2009). A History of British Earthquakes. Cambridge University Press. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-0-521-14099-7.
4. Michael R. Watts (1978). The Dissenters: The crisis and conscience of nonconformity. Clarendon Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-19-822969-8.
5. Joyce M. Bellamy; David E. Martin; John Saville (15 January 1993). Dictionary of Labour Biography: Volume IX. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-349-07845-5.
6. B. Barr; Hubert Roy Evans; J. E. Evans (September 1994). Bridge assessment management and design: proceedings of the Centenary Year Bridge Conference, Cardiff, U.K., 26-30 September 1994. Elsevier. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-444-82063-1.
7. John B. Hilling (20 May 2016). The History and Architecture of Cardiff Civic Centre: Black Gold, White City. University of Wales Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-78316-844-6.
8. The Surveyor and Municipal Engineer. St. Bride's Press. July 1906. p. 330.
9. David James Llewelfryn Davies (2007). "Evans, Sir Samuel Thomas (1859-1918), politician and judge". Welsh Biography Online. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
10. Robert Thomas Jenkins. "Jones (later Brynmor-Jones), Sir David Brynmor (1852-1921), lawyer and historian". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
11. "Cwm Dyli Power Station". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
12. "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 3 October 2019.
13. Peter N. Williams (2003). Presenting Wales from a to Y - The People, the Places, the Traditions: An Alphabetical Guide to a Nation's Heritage. Trafford Publishing. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-55395-482-8.
14. "History of the Society". Welsh Folk Song Society. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
15. "New Theatre history". New Theatre. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
16. Rhidian Griffiths (2007). "Williams, Grace Mary (1906-1977), composer". Welsh Biography Online. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
17. Roland Glyn Mathias (2007). "Watkins, Vernon (1906-1967), poet". Welsh Biography Online. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
18. Hugo Young (2001). Political Lives. Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-19-860430-3.
19. Gale, Cengage Learning (29 June 2016). A Study Guide for Richard Llewellyn's "How Green Was My Valley". Gale. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4103-4850-0.
20. Thomas Rowland Roberts (1908). Eminent Welshmen: A Short Biographical Dictionary of Welshmen who Have Attained Distinction from the Earliest Times to the Present. Educational Publishing Company. p. 488.
21. Ellis, Thomas Iorwerth (2007). "Jones, Griffith Arthur (1827–1906), cleric". Welsh Biography Online. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
22. "Death of Sir Edward Reed". The Times. 1 December 1906. p. 6.
23. Buller Staddan player profile Scrum.com