Welsh was spoken officially at the European Union for the first time on 19 November 2008 when Wales' Culture Minister Alun Ffred Jones spoke in Welsh to the Council of Ministers at Brussels.  His first words in Welsh to the Council of Ministers were: "Diolch madam llywydd (thank you madam chair) ..."

Although Welsh was not added to the list of the EU's 23 official languages, the union gave the go-ahead for the language to be used in speeches at the Council of Ministers if translators are present.  All European legislation is also to be translated into Welsh and anyone wanting to correspond with major EU bodies in Welsh can do so.  

Born on this day in 1892 in Rowen in the Conwy valley, Caernarfonshire: Huw Thomas Edwards, one of Wales’ most iconic figures. He declined an invitation to be knighted at the Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in July 1969.

Huw Tom, as he was known, started work aged 14 at the Penmaenmawr slate quarry. He ran away to South Wales to work in the coal mines of the Rhondda Valley and was at Tonypandy at the time of the 1911 strike. 

Edwards was seriously wounded during the First World War but returned to work in the coal mines and slate quarries where he set up branches of a trade union and the Labour Party. A respected and influential figure, he was chosen as the first chairman of the Council of Wales and Monmouthshire in 1949.  During his nine years in the post, he collaborated on reports on devolution and on depopulation in rural Wales. He resigned in 1958 as a protest against the failure of the Macmillan government to appoint a Secretary of State for Wales.

Edwards chaired the Welsh Tourist Board, the Flintshire Education Committee and the Clwyd and Deeside Hospital Board. He was also the president of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) and was described during this time as “the unofficial Prime Minister of Wales”. 

 On 19th November 1936, King Edward VIII visited the derelict Dowlais Iron and Steel Works, commenting that "These works brought all these people here. Something should be done to get them at work again."  

 At the time of his visit  King Edward VIII was a popular figure and his comments on unemployment increased his popularity with working people and irritated Stanley Baldwin’s government.  However after his abdication and visit to Berlin to meet Hitler, his sympathies with the Nazi regime became evident and his popularity waned dramatically.  

Born on this day 1929 in Llansamlet, Swansea

Jack Kelsey- a former soccer international and world-class goalkeeper who played for Wales and Arsenal. Kelsey played for Wales 41 times, including the 1958 World Cup in which Wales reached the quarter-finals, before being defeated by Brazil.  His opponents were so impressed by his performance that they nicknamed him "the cat with magnetic paws".  

The Welsh Pony and Cob Museum was opened at Bronaeron on 19th November 2010.

The Welsh Mountain Pony evolved from the semi-feral, hardy pre-Roman Celtic pony. 

The first literary reference to them is in the laws of Hywel Dda, written in 930, where their speed, agility and strength are acknowledged. They would have been used primarily for farming and forestry. In 1485, Welsh horsemen, riding ancestors of the modern Welsh Cob, supported Henry Tudor in gaining the English throne.

The breeds as they are known today were established by the late 15th century after the Crusaders returned with Arabian stallions from the Middle East to breed with the local horses.

In a bid to improve the overall quality of British horses, King Henry VIII ordered the destruction of all stallions under 15 hands and all mares under 13 hands in the Breed of Horses Act 1535.  However, the Welsh breeds escaped the slaughter because of the remoteness of rural Wales and a partial repeal by Queen Elizabeth I in 1566.

Before the car, the Welsh Cob was a vital means of transport for doctors and tradesmen and were commonly used in coal mines, both above and below ground. They were also in demand in the United States, with large numbers being exported.

Born on this day 1936 in Gibbon, Nebraska, U.S.A

Richard Alva Cavett (Dick Cavett) - an American talk show host who was greatly influenced in the literary arts by his grandfather, a baptist preacher from Wales.

His career in entertainment began as an amateur actor and magician. He wrote successfully for Johnny Carsons and Jack Parr before establishing himself as an erudite talk-show host. Such was his reputation that he attracted guests who did not usually appear on talk shows, such as Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier and Katherine Hepburn. Now regarded as an American treasure, Dick Cavett writes regularly for "The New York Times."