In August 1881, The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act prohibited the sale of alcohol on a Sunday in Wales.

This was the first Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom since the 1542 Act of Union whose application was restricted only to Wales . 

William Gladstone's Liberal government passed the act which would change the culture and politics of Wales.  It had been sponsored by the Welsh nonconformists in the Liberal party, such as Lloyd George and was not repealed until 1961.

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Wales suffered its worst railway disaster to date on 20 August 1868  when the fastest train in the country, the Irish Mail, crashed into runaway goods wagons at Abergele. The wagons contained Cambrian oil, a type of paraffin used in miners' lamps, and within a few minutes of the collision the engine and its passenger carriages were consumed with flames; thirty-three people lost their lives

Identification of the charred remains of many of the victims had not been easy and a number of bodies could not be positively identified. A chaotic inquest was followed by a dignified funeral at St Mary's, the parish church of Abergele where a memorial to the victims of the accident now stands. The inquest delivered verdicts of manslaughter against the brakemen who had been shunting the wagons at Llanddulas Station and censured the station master for gross dereliction of duty.

The trial at the spring assizes in Ruthin the following year, however, found the brakeman not guilty and attention focussed on ways in which railway safety might be improved. One result of the Abergele disaster was the passing of the 1862 Petroleum Act that put petroleum products in the same category of danger as gunpowder, plague and diseased cattle.

Hungary's unusual connection with Wales. 

August 20th commemorates the foundation of the Hungarian state. Also called as St. Stephen's Day, in memory of Stephen I, Hungary's first king and founder. 

If you ask any Hungarian about Wales the first thing that is likely to come to their mind will be a poem, that everyone learns by heart at school, entitled "The Bards of Wales", written by one of their most respected writers, Janos Arany in 1857  

Arany was asked to write a poem of praise for the visit of Franz Joseph I of Austria.  Instead, as a metaphor to criticise the tyrannic Habsburg rule over Hungary after the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, he wrote a poem about the tale of the 500 Welsh bards sent to the stake by Edward I of England for failing to sing his praises at a banquet in Montgomery Castle in 1277.  

Arany wrote his own preface to the poem: “The historians doubt it, but it strongly stands in legend that Edward I of England sent 500 Welsh bards to the stake after his victory over the Welsh (1277) to prevent them from arousing the country and destroying English rule by telling of the glorious past of their nation.” 

The Welsh composer Karl Jenkins composed a’ symphony based on the poem, which he conducted at its  premier in Budapest’s Palace of Arts in 2001.

Born this day 1972 in Morriston and raised in Llanelli.  

Scott Quinnell -  former Wales rugby union captain and Lions and rugby league international.

Quinnell is currently a commentator and pundit on televised rugby matches.  He was was born dyslexic and now speaks publicly on the issue, representing the Welsh Dyslexia Project.  He has also written an autobiography, which is one of the Accent Press Quick Reads series.

Born on this day 1941 in London (of Welsh descent) 

Dame Anne Elizabeth Jane Evans  - operatic soprano, who is one of Britain’s most internationally successful singers and has appeared in most of the world’s major musical venues. 

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Born this day 1980 in Swansea

Enzo Maccarinelli  - professional boxer, who is a former World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and European cruiserweight champion.