On 29th May 2006, a concert was held in Pontypridd to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (the Welsh national anthem). 

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau was, originally known as Glan Rhondda (Banks of the Rhondda) and was written in January 1856 by Evan James from Pontypridd, with the music composed by his son, James.  It was first performed at Capel Tabor, Maesteg  by Elizabeth John also from Pontypridd, later in 1856.

The song became well known nationally, after Thomas Llewelyn of Aberdare included it in his competition winning collection of unpublished Welsh airs at the 1858 Llangollen festival and then allowed the adjudicator John Owen to include it in his publication, Gems of Welsh melody under its now famous title, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.  

In 1905, the touring New Zealand rugby team started to perform the Haka before every match, and as a response, the Welsh Rugby Union administrator Tom Williams suggested that the Welsh player Teddy Morgan sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.  When Morgan began to sing, the crowd joined in and this is credited as being the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event.  At the time, the official national anthem was "God Save the Prince of Wales", but from then on, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" was also sung, until 1975, when it was decided that only "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau"  would be sung.  

Versions of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau are also used as anthems in both Cornwall and Brittany.  

The Battle of Cadfan, at which the forces of Henry III of England were roundly defeated, is widely believed to have taken place in the Tywi Valley, Carmarthenshire on 29th May 1257.

Henry's army arrived near Carmarthen before marching up the Towy Valley, towards Dinefwr Castle near Llandeilo, which they intended to take from Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and restore to their ally Rhys Fychan. However unbeknown to the English, Rhys had come to an agreement with Llywelyn, which left them without a guide in hostile and unfamiliar territory.

On the first engagement, the English army drove the Welsh westwards towards the heavily wooded area known as Broad Oak, where many more Welsh were positioned to ambush the unsuspecting English. The fighting continued all day with the Welsh employing continual hit and run tactics, using their knowledge of the area to their advantage, before striking a final blow to the tired and confused English. It is reported that 2000 of Henry's army were killed and many nobles taken hostage.

Many local place names recall the battle, with Cadfan deriving from the Welsh cad meaning battle and ban meaning peak. A local bridge, Pont Steffan is named after the English army's leader and close confidant to Henry III, Stephan Bacon who was killed in the battle and nearby fields carry the names Cae Ochain - field of groans, Cae Tranc - field of death and Cae Ffrainc - field of Normans.  

On 29th May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to conquer the summit of Everest.  

However, it could easily have been Welshman Charles Evans planting a flag on the highest mountain in the world! He was a senior member of the 1953 expeditionary team and had been nominated as the one to make the final ascent.   Evans, raised in Wales and a fluent Welsh speaker, was only 300 metres short of the summit when he had trouble with his oxygen equipment and had to return to Everest base camp, leaving Hillary and Tenzing to take the glory.  However, this was not to be Evans's last expedition, as 2 years later, on 28th May 1955, he led the expedition that conquered Kanchenjunga in India, the world's third highest mountain.   

Born this day 1933 in Wrexham

Nick Whitehead - Olympic bronze medal athlete, as part of the 4x100m relay team at the Rome Olympics of 1960.  Whitehead later became the first director of the national coaching foundation and coached the Great Britain athletics team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.