Born this day 1800 in Risca 

William Price  -   Physician and eccentric (pictured  in ritual, Neo-druidic attire whilst on stage)

He trained as a doctor in Caerphilly and after qualifying from the Royal College of Surgeons in London in 1821 he returned to Wales to practice.  He became involved in Chartist politics, becoming a local leader and after the Chartist march on Newport in 1839, he fled to France disguised as a woman, whilst in France,  he visited the Louvre museum, where he became highly interested in a stone with a Greek inscription that he interpreted as a prophecy given by an ancient Welsh prince named Alun, who would liberate the Welsh people.  Feeling that that the prophecy applied to him, Price returned to Wales to free his people from the English-dominated authorities.

Upon his return, he began to get increasingly interested in Welsh cultural activities, he scorned orthodox religion, claimed to be an arch-druid and performed ancient rites on the Pontypridd rocking-stone.  Price was also responsible for the building of the famous "Round houses" in Pontypridd, persuading a local builder to build them, even though he didn't own the land.  At this time he had taken to wearing  a white tunic, covering a scarlet waistcoat,  green cloth trousers and a huge fox skin hat, he neither shaved or cut his hair.

After another spell in France, he returned and opened a medical practice in Llantrisant and in 1881 at the age of 81 married  Gwenllian Llewelyn, who was only 21 and she bore him a son, whom Price named Iesu Grist (Jesus  Christ), however, the infant died after five months and Price decided to cremate his son’s body upon the summit of a hill outside Llantrisant.  Cremation at the time was unlawful and Price was arrested and put on trial for the illegal disposal of a corpse.  However, he successfully argued that there was no legislation that specifically outlawed it and this paved the way for the Cremation Act of 1902.  On his release, Price returned to Llantrisant to find a crowd of supporters cheering for his victory and  in 1892 he erected a pole which was over sixty feet high, with a crescent moon symbol at its peak, on top of the hill where the cremation had taken place.

William Price died on 23rd January 1893 and 20,000 people attended his cremation on a pyre of two tons of coal, on a hillside overlooking Llantrisant.  

A relatively unreported and serious riot took place on 4th March 1919 in the Canadian Army Camp at Kinmel Park, near Abergele in North Wales. 

There was discontent among the 15,000 Canadian soldiers waiting to be repatriated after World War One, as the place was a sea of mud, sleeping conditions were cramped and blankets in short supply.  On top of this, food rations had been halved and many had not received their pay for over a month.  The tipping point seemed to be when it was announced that the ships designated to take the Canadians home had been allocated to the Americans.

The men at Kinmel were infuriated and after nothing was done following several protests, the mood turned to outrage.  Some of the soldiers looted and started fires in Quartermaster's Stores and officers'  messes.  Rifle shots were exchanged with officers resulting in the deaths of three rioters and two guards, with many others being wounded.

The mutiny was put down the following  morning and 78 of the Canadian soldiers were arrested.  However the incident was "hushed up" and the remaining Canadians had been transported home by 25th March. 

Born this day 1948 in Ely, Cardiff

Shakin' Stevens, (born Michael Barratt)  "Shaky - Pop and rock and roll singer and songwriter who was the biggest-selling singles artist in the UK in the 1980s, entering the charts on 33 occasions.    

Born this day, 1955 in Llandudno

Joseph Patrick "Joey" Jones,   former Welsh soccer international, who won 72 caps. He also won the European Cup with Liverpool and is best remembered for his uncompromising style of play and committed attitude.  

Born this day 1924 in Rhuthun

David Oswald Thomas, who was a philosopher, best known for his interpretation of the work of the philosopher Richard Price.

After his early education at Denbigh Grammar School, he became a bank clerk, followed by military service in the RAF. After demobilization he entered the University College of Wales at Bangor, where he studied philosophy, taking a particular interest in the political philosophy of Richard Price. Thomas felt that thinkers like Price had received insufficient attention and made the eighteenth-century Welsh philosopher his life's work. In 1977, he published the definitive study of Price, The Honest Mind.