The Bristol Channel floods of 30th January 1607  resulted in an estimated 3,000 people downing.  It is thought that the cause may well have been a tsunami type wave as high as 25ft high and travelling at 38mph. Houses and  whole villages were swept away, with the devastation particularly severe along the coast from Laugharne to Chepstow.  Cardiff was particularly affected, with the foundations of  St Mary's Church destroyed.  The event is recorded on plaques in the Monmouthshire Churches of Goldcliff, St. Brides, Redwick and Peterstone. 

On this day 1826, The Menai Suspension Bridge was opened.  It was designed by Thomas Telford and it was the first modern suspension bridge in the world.

The bridge was important for the economy of Anglesey, as previously it was difficult to move goods from the island, in particular, cattle had to be swum across the Menai Straights.  Also after the Act of Union of 1800, it was increasingly important to secure more reliable transport between Ireland and Britain and as Holyhead was one of the principal terminals, easier access to and from it was essential, in fact, it reduced the journey time from London to Holyhead from 36 to 27 hours.  

Born this day 1974 in Haverfordwest

Christian Bale, an actor best known for his starring roles as Batman (Bruce Wayne) in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.   

On 30th January 1164, David Fitzgerald, Bishop of St David’s, was among the signatories of the Constitutions of Clarendon, which was an attempt by Henry II to exert state control over the Church in England and ultimately resulted in the disagreements between Henry and Thomas Beckett.

David FitzGerald was the son of Gerald of Windsor and Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewder and the uncle of Gerald of Wales whom he took into his household and arranged for his education.  Fitzgerald was bishop of St David's from 1148 to 1176 and is described as a greedy man, ambitious and a despoiler of his bishopric, who used the lands of the bishopric to endow his family with lands and offices.  He was also involved in the politics of the invasion of Ireland.

St David's was the seat of Welsh bishops from the eighth century.  The first Norman bishop was Bernard, appointed in 1115, who built a cathedral church at St David's in 1131.  The second bishop was David Fitzgerald who was consecrated bishop on 19 Dec 1148 at Canterbury by Archbishop Theobald, with the understanding that he abandon the efforts of St David's to be elevated to an archbishopric.

In 1162 Fitzgerald took part in the consecration of Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury and in Sept 1171, Henry II made a pilgrimage to St David's and is recorded as dining with David FitzGerald at his court.  David fitzGerald was said to be constantly at loggerheads with his chapter and as his diocese was poor and suffered from plundering by local magnates, in particular, Mahel, the Earl of Hereford who forced Fitzgerald to flee into exile in England.  However Mahel was killed in 1175 when a stone fell on his head in Bronllys Castle, and Fitzgerald was able to return.  Fitzgerald died 23 May 1176 and there is a monument to him in the cathedral. 

Born on this day 1836 in Caernarfon

Lewis Jones, one of the founders of the Welsh settlement in Patagonia.

Lewis Jones (1836-1904) worked as a printer in Holyhead and Liverpool and during his time in Liverpool, he became a prominent member of a group looking into the establishment of a Welsh settlement. In 1862, he and Captain Love Jones-Parry travelled to inspect the selected land in Patagonia, returning in 1865 with Edwin Cynrig Roberts to get things ready for the first settlers.

The initial period proved extremely difficult for the settlement and some the settlers became discontented, blaming Jones for their hardship. Disillusioned, Jones left Patagonia and became a printer in Buenos Aires, but on hearing in 1867, that some of the settlers were going to to leave, he came back and persuaded them to stay, returning himself with his family in 1871.

Jones later established the Settlement's first printing press and newspapers and was also instrumental in the construction of the railway from Porth Madryn to the Chubut Valley, with the new town at the end of the line named Trelew in his honour and a statue of him erected and a statue of him erected in the town's Parque Centenario. Jones's daughter Eluned, later Eluned Morgan, later became a prominent figure in the life of the Welsh settlement and is considered to be one of the finest Welsh language writers produced by Patagonia.

Born on this day 1813 in Falmouth

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles - Biblical scholar, textual critic, and theologian.

For a time, Tregelles worked at the ironworks at Neath Abbey, where in his spare time, he learnt Welsh, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.   Tregelles was a devout protestant and used his Welsh to spread the word of God amongst the local Welsh people who he considered being under threat from atheism, Roman Catholicism and Mormonism.  

Born on this day 1878 in Crickhowell,

Reg Skrimshire, who was a Welsh international rugby union forward who was the only Welsh representative on the 1903 British Lions tour to South Africa.

He later became a civil engineer, building railways and bridges for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Ceylon, Southern Africa and India. His most notable work being the railway from Johannesburg, which included the famous bridge over the Victoria falls .