This article is about the particular significance of the year 1980 to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and the

Welsh people The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and ...

Incumbents

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

–

Nicholas Edwards Roger Nicholas Edwards, Baron Crickhowell, PC (25 February 1934 – 17 March 2018) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as an MP from 1970 until 1987 and as Secretary of State for Wales during the first two terms of the Tha ...

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came un ...

–

Gwilym Williams Gwilym Owen Williams (23 March 1913 – 23 December 1990) was a prominent figure in the Church in Wales who served as Bishop of Bangor from 1957 to 1982 and Archbishop of Wales from 1971 to 1982. Biography Williams was born to a deeply religiou ...

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointe ...

Archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the Chairing of th ...

of the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

–

Geraint Geraint () is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton ha ...

Events

2 January Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire ...

– Workers at

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

go on strike over pay. *May –

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid was ...

leader

Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first Member of Parliament to represent it at West ...

announces his intention to go on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Mos ...

in protest against the government's failure to honour its promise of a fourth Welsh-language television channel. The government backs down on 17 September, a few weeks before Evans's deadline. *April – The

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The posi ...

votes to ordain women deacons. * 17 May –

Glan Clwyd Hospital Glan Clwyd Hospital ( Welsh: ''Ysbyty Glan Clwyd)'' is a hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, Wales. It is managed by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. History The hospital, which was built with six operating theatres at a cost of ...

opens at

Bodelwyddan Bodelwyddan () is a village, electoral ward and community in Denbighshire, Wales, approximately 5 miles (8 km) South of Rhyl. The Parish includes several smaller hamlets such as Marli and Pengwern. Bodelwyddan is home to over sixty listed ...

. * 8 June – Dr

Martyn Lloyd-Jones David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister and medical doctor who was influential in the Calvinist wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminste ...

preaches for the last time, at Barcombe Baptist Chapel. * 28 June – Penelope Clarke of Lanover marries

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Unio ...

, future

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

. * 11 July –

Britannia Bridge Britannia Bridge ( cy, Pont Britannia) is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by the noted railway engineer Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wr ...

A55 road The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway ( cy, Gwibffordd Gogledd Cymru) is a major road in Wales and England, connecting Cheshire and north Wales. The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary ...

deck officially opened by the Prince of Wales (now

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

). *August –

Dragon Data Dragon Data Ltd. was a Welsh producer of home computers during the early 1980s. These computers, the Dragon 32 and Dragon 64, strongly resembled the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer ("CoCo")—both followed a standard Motorola datasheet confi ...

introduces the

Dragon 32 The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer, and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., initially in Swansea, Wales before mo ...

home computer. *

John Maddox Sir John Royden Maddox, FRS (27 November 1925 – 12 April 2009) was a Welsh theoretical chemist, turned physicist, and science writer. He was an editor of ''Nature'' for 22 years, from 1966 to 1973 and 1980 to 1995. Education and early ...

becomes editor of ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

''. *Death of last pure-bred Rhiw sheep. *Cardiff Zoo closed. *

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations in ...

Ltd begins using the name "Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru".

Arts and literature

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable ...

makes one of his last stage appearances, in the musical ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

''. *

Michael Bogdanov Michael Bogdanov (15 December 1938 – 16 April 2017) was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for young people. Early years Bogdanov was born Michael Bogd ...

becomes Associate Director of the Royal National Theatre. *

Bobi Jones Robert Maynard Jones (20 May 1929 – 22 November 2017), generally known as Bobi Jones, was a Welsh Christian academic and one of the most prolific writers in the history of the Welsh language. A versatile master of poetry, fictional prose and cri ...

is appointed to the professorial Chair in Welsh at

University of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University ( cy, Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The universi ...

. *The publisher Gwasg Carreg Gwalch is founded by Myrddin ap Dafydd at Capel Garmon.

Awards

*National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in

Gowerton Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the ...

) *National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair -

Donald Evans Donald Louis Evans (born July 27, 1946) is an American businessman. He was the 34th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He was appointed by his longtime friend George W. Bush and sworn into office on January 20, 2001. On November 9, 2004, the White Hous ...

*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown -

*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - R. Gerallt Jones

New books

* Irma Chilton - ''Yr Iâr Goch'' *

Leopold Kohr Leopold Kohr (1909–1994) was an economist, jurist and political scientist known both for his opposition to the "cult of bigness" in social organization and as one of those who inspired the '' Small Is Beautiful'' movement. For almost twenty year ...

- ''Cymru Fach'' * D. Tecwyn Lloyd - ''Bore Da, Lloyd'' * Alan Wilson - ''Arthur, King of Glamorgan and Gwent''

Music

* Edward H. Dafis - ''Plant Y Fflam'' (album)

Works of art

Andrew Vicari Andrew Vicari (born Andrea Antonio Giovanni Vaccari; 20 April 1932 – 3 October 2016) was a Welsh painter working in France, who established a career painting portraits of prominent people. Despite being largely unknown in his own country, ...

- ''La Marianne''

Film

*''

The Mouse and the Woman ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', based on a novel by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Unde ...

, written by

Vincent Kane Vincent Kane, OBE (born 1935) is a Welsh broadcaster and writer, known primarily for his career with the BBC. He was chairman of the Wales Quality Centre, the International Festival of Musical Theatre and the Cardiff Initiative. Biography Kane ...

and directed by

Karl Francis Karl Francis (born 1 April 1942) is a Welsh film and television director, producer and screenwriter, associated with left-wing political causes. His work is inspired by the likes of Chris Marker and Ken Loach and has included output in both the ...

, co-stars

Huw Ceredig Huw Ceredig Jones (22 June 1942 – 16 August 2011) was a Welsh actor, best known for portraying Reg Harries in the Welsh-language soap opera ''Pobol y Cwm''. Early life Huw Ceredig was born in Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, in 1942, the son of R ...

, Beti Lloyd-Jones and Dafydd Hywel. *''

Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

'' is filmed at Dolwyddelan Castle.

Broadcasting

English-language television

* Ruth Madoc stars in the hit sitcom ''

Hi-de-Hi! ''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a BBC television sitcom shown on BBC1 from 1 January 1980 to 30 January 1988. Set in 1959 and 1960 in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, the show was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote ''Dad's Army'' and ...

Sport

* BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Duncan Evans *

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

** 28 February – Johnny Owen defeats Juan Francisco Rodríguez at

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conu ...

to win the European bantamweight championship. ** 28 June – Johnny Owen defeats John Feeny at the Empire Pool, Wembley. ** 19 September – Johnny Owen fights

Lupe Pintor José Guadalupe Pintor Guzmán (born 13 April 1955), better known as Lupe Pintor, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1995. He won the WBC bantamweight title in 1979 after defeating Carlos Zárate Serna, and made ...

in Los Angeles. Owen is knocked out and goes into a coma from which he never emerges, being pronounced dead on 4 November. *

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

**Fifteen Welsh players are included in the squad of 38 for the

1980 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1980 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured South Africa (including one game in Windhoek, South West Africa, the future Namibia). The tour was not a success for the Lions, as they lost the first three tests before salvaging some ...

: Elgan Rees, Ray Gravell, David Richards,

Peter Morgan Peter Julian Robin Morgan, (10 April 1963) is a British screenwriter and playwright. He is the playwright behind '' The Audience'' and '' Frost/Nixon'' and the screenwriter of ''The Queen'' (2006), '' Frost/Nixon'' (2008), '' The Damned Unite ...

, Gareth Davies,

Terry Holmes Terence David "Terry" Holmes (born 10 March 1957) is a Welsh former rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who won 25 caps for as a scrum-half, and later played rugby league for Bradford Northern. Holmes was a highly physical ...

, Clive Williams, Ian Stephens, Graham Price, Alan Phillips, Allan Martin, Jeff Squire, Stuart Lane,

Derek Quinnell Derek Leslie Quinnell (born 22 May 1949 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire) is a former Welsh rugby union player. He played as a lock-forward and as a number eight. He was capped for Wales youth 1967/8 season. Club career Educated at Coleshill Seco ...

and

Gareth Powell Williams Gareth Powell Williams (6 November 1954 – 12 May 2018) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for Bridgend RFC. In 1980, he toured South Africa with the British Lions as a replacement for the injured Stuart L ...

. ** 18 October – 1 November: 1980 New Zealand rugby union tour of Wales *** 1 November:

3–23

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...

** 9 February –

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (born 16 October 1947) is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Champions ...

wins the Masters, defeating

Ray Reardon Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

in an all-Welsh final.

Births

* 20 January –

Matthew Tuck Matthew Tuck (born 20 January 1980) is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the metal band Bullet for My Valentine. He is also a singer and guitarist in the supergroup AxeWound, which was formed in 2012. ...

, vocalist * 28 February –

Katy Wix Katy Victoria J Wix (born 28 February 1980) is a Welsh actress, writer, author and artist. She is best known for her television roles as Carole in '' Stath Lets Flats,'' Mary in ''Ghosts'' and Jules in '' Big Boys''. She has also appeared as a ...

, actress *

23 March Events Pre-1600 * 1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official. * 1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last ...

– Ryan Day, snooker player *

29 March Events Pre-1600 * 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. *1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic o ...

– Andy Scott-Lee, singer *

7 April Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. * 529 – First ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Emp ...

– Carl Fletcher, footballer * 10 April –

Daniel Hawksford Daniel Hawksford (born 10 April 1980) is a Welsh stage and screen actor. Stage career Before starting his professional career, Hawksford trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He is an associate artist for Clwyd Theatr Cymru. H ...

, actor * 12 April – Sara Head, table tennis player * 15 April –

Stephen Doughty Stephen John Doughty (born 15 April 1980) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2012. He has been the Shadow Minister for Africa and a Shadow ...

, politician * 26 May –

Nick Thomas-Symonds Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tor ...

, politician * 29 June –

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.28 July Events Pre-1600 * 1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina. *1540 – Henry VIII of England marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day his former Chancellor, T ...

– Noel Sullivan, pop singer * 13 August – Bari Morgan, footballer * 19 August – Paul Parry, footballer *

20 August Events Pre-1600 * AD 14 – Agrippa Postumus, maternal grandson of the late Roman emperor Augustus, is mysteriously executed by his guards while in exile. * 636 – Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take cont ...

– Enzo Maccarinelli, boxer * 3 November – Elis James, comedian * 17 November – Gethin Jenkins, rugby player * 16 December – Kevin Aherne-Evans, footballer *''date unknown'' –

Catrin Finch Catrin Ana Finch is a Welsh harpist, arranger and composer. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is visiting professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music in London. ...

, harpist

Deaths

* 12 January – Howel Williams, American geologist and volcanologist of Welsh parentage, 81 * 31 January – Arthur "Waring" Bowen, solicitor and charity worker, 57 * 8 February –

Miles Thomas (William) Miles Webster Thomas, Baron Thomas DFC (2 March 1897 – 8 February 1980),9 February – Tom Macdonald, writer, 79 *

25 February Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. *13 ...

–

Caradog Prichard Caradog Prichard (3 November 1904 – 25 February 1980) was a Welsh poet and novelist writing in Welsh. His daughter, Mari Prichard, was married to the late Humphrey Carpenter. Caradog Prichard was born and grew up in the Gwynedd slate-quarryin ...

, author, 75 * 20 March – Alun Davies, historian, 63 * 6 May – Bryn Phillips, dual-code rugby international, 79 * 14 May –

Hugh Griffith Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh film, stage, and television actor. He is best remembered for his role in the film '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), which earned him critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Acto ...

, actor, 67 *

4 June Events Pre-1600 *1411 – King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries. *1561 – The steeple of St Paul's, the medieval cathedra ...

– Don Tarr, Wales international rugby player, 70 * 7 June – Idwal Davies, footballer, 80 * 14 July – Aneirin Talfan Davies, critic and broadcaster, 71 * 15 September –

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block c ...

, American jazz pianist of Welsh descent, 51 (drug-related) * 7 October – Jim Lewis, footballer, 71 * 4 November – Johnny Owen, boxer, 24 *

26 November Events Pre-1600 * 783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her king from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. * 1161 – Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynas ...

– Rachel Roberts, actress, 53 (suicide) * 4 December – James Jones, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, 99 *''date unknown'' ** Tom Parri Jones, poet ** Jack Warner, footballer

References

{{Reflist

Wales