On 25th May 1999, the last pit pony in South Wales, 'Robbie', worked his last shift underground at Pant y Gasseg, Pontypool.  

In 1913, there were 70,000 ponies working underground in Britain's coal mines, gradually replaced by mechanised haulage, until by 1984, only 55 ponies were still in use. 

Small ponies no more than 12 hands high were needed, Shetlands being a breed commonly used because of their small size. Ponies were stabled underground, coming to the surface only during the colliery's annual holiday. They would work an eight-hour shift, during which they might haul 30 tons of coal.   

Born on this day 1784  in Newport,

John Frost , a prosperous citizen turned rebel who led the Newport Rising.

A successful tailor, Frost was initially radicalised during a spell in prison following a dispute with a solicitor. He became involved with the Chartist movement, which campaigned for basic democratic rights overlooked in the Great Reform Act of 1832. 

Frost advocated violent action to achieve reform, which outraged Home Secretary Lord John Russell. Frost led a three thousand strong march on Newport, mostly miners from the Gwent Valleys, converging on the Westgate Hotel in Newport where Chartist prisoners were supposed to be held. The authorities had stationed troops inside the building and opened fire, killing 20 people and wounding many more.

The Chartist movement was suppressed, as Frost and his fellow ringleaders were put on trial.  Although sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne ordered Frost to be transported to Australia instead. Frost eventually returned to Britain, and by the time of his death at the age of 91, most of the reforms for which the Chartists had campaigned had been enshrined in law.  

The Glamorganshire Canal, stretching between Merthyr and Cardiff, was closed on 25th May 1942.  

Construction on the 25-mile canal started in 1790 and was completed by 1794. Its purpose was to transport iron from Merthyr, and it later served the coal industry. It closed as a result of subsidence and competition from the railways; much of its course later buried beneath the A470 Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil dual carriageway.

On 25th May 2012, the Olympic torch started its five-day tour of Wales, as part of the torch relay of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Chairman of  Disability Sport Wales, Gareth John, became the first person to bring the torch into Wales.

Born on this day in 1942 in Holywell, Flintshire, Ron Davies, former Wales soccer international.

Ron made his debut in 1960 for Chester City and for Wales in 1964 after playing for Luton and Norwich City. He went on to play for Southampton, where in his first season he scored 37 goals in 41 games.   

Released on this day in 1977, the first film in George Lucas's Star Wars sci-fi saga.

Welsh connections to Star Wars;

*   Richard Marquand, director of  "Return of the Jedi" was born in Llanishen, Cardiff. 

*   The full-scale model of the Millennium Falcon was built in Pembroke Dock by Marcon Fabrications. 

*   Andy Secombe, the son Harry Secombe  voiced the computer-generated slave owner Watto, in The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones

*   The Church of Jediism, which is a religion based on the philosophical and spiritual ideas of the Jedi as depicted in Star Wars  was founded in 2007 by Daniel M Jones on Anglesey.  The organisation has over 20,000 members across the globe and was the most selected "alternative faith" in a 2012 census of England and Wales.    

On 25th May 2010 The Learned Society of Wales was launched. 

Fellowship is open to Welsh residents, those born in Wales or have a particular connection to Wales, who have a "demonstrable record of excellence and achievement" in academia, or who have made a recognised contribution to knowledge in their professional field.