Born on this day 1880 in Cardiff.

James "Jim" Driscoll - much loved and respected boxer who fought his way fight his way from a humble upbringing to become British featherweight champion and winner of a Lonsdale belt. 

 After winning the British and Commonwealth titles, Driscoll went to America where he fought World champion Abe Attell in 1910 and although he gave what is generally regarded as one of the greatest exhibitions of boxing ever seen, he was not able to knock out Attely.  At the time, a bout could not be won on points,  so the outcome was "no decision" which resulted in Attell holding on to the title.  However the American public were so impressed with Driscoll's skill and craft that they named him  'Peerless Jim.'  

Driscoll then turned down the chance of a rematch, because he had committed himself to a fund raising exhibition for the St. Nazareth House orphanage in Cardiff.  After the interruption to his career of  World War I, he continued to fight, even though his health was failing and he died of consumption  in 1925.  

At his funeral, the people of Wales, showed the high esteem in which he was held, with 100,000 people lining the streets of Cardiff.  To this day fresh daffodils are laid at his grave at Cathays Cemetary and a statue of him was erected in Cardiff in 1997. 

Sir Thomas Parry (c. 1515 – 15 December 1560) was a Comptroller to the Household of Queen Elizabeth I, responsible for auditing the accounts of the Royal Household and making arrangements for royal travel. 

Parry was brought up at Tretower Court, Breconshire and was a family friend of William Cecil, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I.  He first appears as being on the staff of Thomas Cromwell in 1536, carrying out tasks relating to the dissolution of the monasteries.  Later when Elizabeth was confined to Hatfield House by Queen Mary, Parry was one of the few Protestants who visited her and his loyalty was rewarded by Elizabeth when she became Queen, by receiving a knighthood and lands in Berkshire.

It seems however that he was not popular at the royal court, as when he died, it was said by some of his contemporaries that his death was caused by ill-humour.

In December 2012, The BBC announced that its hugely popular fantasy drama Merlin, based on the Arthurian legends, which had run since 2008, was to come to a natural end with a two-part finale, concluding with the battle for Camelot.   

Born on this day 1938 in Neath

Michael Bogdanov - multiple award winning Shakespearean director, who has produced, written and directed Many works for the BBC and the Irish broadcaster RTE.  

Born on this day 1932 in Llanelli

Sir John Meurig Thomas - a prominent chemist, who the mineral meurigite is named after.  He is is a leading authority in the field of catalysts.  

Swansea was officially granted City status on 15th December 1969.

Alfred "Fred" Bestall was born on 14th December 1892.  He is remembered as the writer and illustrator of the Rupert Bear stories in the Daily Express, from 1935 to 1965. 

Most of the landscapes that Bestall used in his illustrations were inspired by his childhood holidays in Snowdonia, an area he revisited regularly as an adult, settling in a cottage on Mynydd Sygun, in Beddgelert in 1956.   

Born on 14th December 1908 in Garnant.

Claude Davey - former Welsh rugby international and captain.

He is best remembered as being the captain of the Welsh side that beat New Zealand 13 -12 in 1935.

Born on this day 1831 in Swansea.

Griffith John - evangelist and first translator of the Bible into Chinese. 

After becoming ordained as a Congregational minister, John took a missionary appointment to China in 1855, based initially in Shanghai, before moving to Hankow in 1861.  John embraced the challenge by learning fluent Chinese and travelling vast distances to preach and to help him, he translated the  New Testament into the Mandarin and Wen-li languages, which were published in 1885.

John returned to Wales in January 1912, which was towards the end of his life, as he died in July of that year and was buried in Swansea.   

Margaret Davies, born 14th December 1884 in Llandinam, in Powys and her sister Gwendoline were social philanthropists, who compiled one of the largest art collections in the UK.

The sisters, who were brought up as strict Sabbatarians, were left a fortune from their grandfather, David Davies of Llandinam, the industrialist and founder of Barry Docks. They were both devout teetotallers and neither ever married, so they were able to use their money to travel widely across Europe and indulge in their passion for art, collecting pieces from Turner, Carrière, Monet and Rodin.

Margaret and Gwendoline settled at Gregynog Hall, near Newtown, where they housed their collection and established the famous Gregynog Music festival, which attracted the composers, Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Holst and the Gregynog Press, which produced limited edition books.

They also ran Gregynog as a troop canteen during World War One and as a convalescent home for injured soldiers during World War Two. Gregynog was gifted to the University of Wales in 1960 and many of the art pieces were given to the National Museum and Art Galleries around Wales. Gwendoline died in 1951 and Margaret in 1963.

At the General Election held on 14th December 1918, Millicent Mackenzie was the first woman to stand for parliament in Wales.

Millicent Mackenzie was born in Bristol and became the professor of education at Cardiff University in 1908. She was a founder member of the Cardiff branch of the suffragette movement in 1912 and unsuccessfully stood for parliament in 1918, representing the Labour Party for the University of Wales. She was also the author of many books on teacher training.

On 13th December 2012, the rights to the 1972 film version of Under Milk Wood were gifted to Wales by its director, Andrew Sinclair.

The film, shot primarily on location in Fishguard, was based on the 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas set in the fictional village of Llareggub ("bugger all"  backwards)  The cast included Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Elizabeth Taylor, Siân Phillips, David Jason, Glynis Johns, Victor Spinetti, Ruth Madoc and Angharad Rees.  

Llandovery College was founded by surgeon Thomas Phillips in 1847, to cultivate the learning of Welsh literature and history, through the medium of Welsh.  The foundation stone of the current college building was laid on 13th December 1849. 

*  The first girls were admitted during the late 1960s.

*  The school building is designated by Cadw as a Grade II listed building.

*  All pupils in the preparatory school and up to Year 9 are required to learn Welsh.

*  Llandovery College was one of the very first teams in Wales to play rugby and were one of the founder clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881.  Two of its players played in Wales' first international game and Charles Lewis, from the college was the second person to captain Wales.  Over the years, many well known internationals attended the college, including; Cliff Jones, George North and Alun Wyn Jones.

There are three bridges which cross the Conwy estuary to Conwy Castle:

*  Conwy Suspension Bridge, which was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826. It replaced the ferry, which was previously the only means of crossing the river.

*  Conwy Tubular Bridge, which was built by Robert Stephenson to carry the railway, was officially opened in 1849.

*  Conwy Road Bridge, which was opened 13th December 1958

  Conwy castle was built by Master James of St George, King Edward I's mason-architect.  Construction work began in 1283 and the castle was completed in 1287.    

Born on this day 1968 in Cardiff

Steve Robinson (Cinderella Man)- former boxing World Champion.

Robinson's story is a remarkable one.  On a Thursday night, he was eating pie and chips at his mother-in-law’s  house, having just returned home from working as a storeman with Debenhams, earning £52 per week.  But by the Saturday night Wales’ first boxing World Champion for 25 years.

In April 1993, the defending WBO Featherweight Champion, Ruben Palacios, the tough Columbian fighter, was stripped of the title, for failing an HIV test before his fight with Englishman, John Davison.   The promoters had only two days to find another opponent and Steve Robinson accepted the challenge.  Against all the odds, Robinson won the bout and the title by a points decision and went on to make 7 successful defences of his title.   

Born on this day 1983 in Neath.

Richard Hibbard - Wales and Lions rugby international.

The aftermath of Llywelyn ap Grufudd's death and his legacy.

Llywelyn was the only Welshman ever to be recognised as Prince of Wales by a King of England and managed to inspire the Welsh to unite in the common goal of defending its borders against the English.  With the result that for almost twenty years between 1258 and 1277, Wales seemed poised to become an independent nation, unified by laws, customs and language.  He is remembered as Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf ("Llywelyn, Our Last Leader") and his spirit still inspires Welsh people who aspire for an independent Wales.

The loss of Llywelyn at The Battle of Orewin Bridge on 11th December 1282. was catastrophic and Welsh morale and the will to resist diminished. His brother Dafydd was named as successor and carried the struggle on, but in June 1283, he too was captured, taken to Shrewsbury and executed.  Edward I, immediately embarked on defending his acquisitions, by building a formidable iron ring of castles, a days march from apart at Flint, Rhuddlan, Builth Wells, Aberystwyth, Harlech, Conwy, Caernarfon and Beaumaris.  Each of the castles was integrated with a bastide town, an idea borrowed from Gascony in southwest France, where Edward I was duke - the town and castle mutually reliant on each other for protection and trade. The bastides were always populated with English settlers, the Welsh permitted to enter the town during the day but not to trade and carry arms. 

Gwynedd was stripped of all royal insignia, relics, and regalia and Edward took particular delight in appropriating the royal home of the Gwynedd dynasty at Abergwyngregyn in an announcement to the world of the near extinction of the Gwynedd dynasty and the annexation of the principality of Wales to his Crown.

Llywelyn's elder brother Owain Goch disappears from the record in 1282 and the presumption is that he was murdered. Llywelyn's younger brother Rhodri, who had been exiled from Wales since 1272 survived and held manors in Gloucestershire, Cheshire, Surrey, and Powys.  Llywelyn and Eleanor's baby daughter Gwenllian was captured by Edward's troops in 1283. She was interned at Sempringham Priory in England, spending the rest of her life as a nun, dying without issue in 1337.  Dafydd's two sons, Llywelyn and Owain were also captured and incarcerated at Bristol Gaol, where they died. 

On 12th December 1965, The Beatles' last live U.K. tour concluded with two performances at the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff

The Capitol Theatre opened in 1921, with a capacity of 3,158.  It was purchased by the Rank Organisation in 1964 and featured many headline acts including The Beatles, Tom Jones, Queen and Bob Dylan.  The theatre was closed 1978 and demolished the following year.    

Sir Roger Williams (1539 - 12 December 1595) was a Protestant Welsh soldier of fortune. Charles Wisner Barrell, a proponent of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, has identified Sir Roger Williams as the basis for Fluellen in William Shakespeare's Henry V. 

A staunch protestant who fought for Cologne, the Dutch, the English and the French Huguenots as a soldier of fortune against Catholic Spain. He was knighted after the Battle of Zutphen in 1586 and was at Tilbury in 1588 in command of forces to resist the possible landing of the Spanish Armada. He later accompanied Sir Francis Drake to Portugal. Over his career, Williams acquired a wide reputation for exceptional courage and daring and was recognised as an expert on military matters by his contemporaries. In 1590 , he wrote "A brief discourse of war".  

A short history of the role of Secretary of State for Wales;

In the first half of the 20th century, a number of politicians had supported the call for a Secretary of State for Wales as a step towards Home Rule.  Although the equivalent post was created in 1885 in Scotland, it wasn't until 1964 that it was established in Wales.

*  Petitions to create a Secretary of Wales were turned down by the Labour Government of 1945-50, which instead, created a Council for Wales and Monmouthshire in 1948, which was chaired by the trade unionist, Huw T. Edwards.

*  In 1951 the Conservative Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, added Welsh Affairs to the portfolio of the Home Secretary, who at that time was Scotsman, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe. He was succeeded by Gwilym Lloyd George, in 1954.

*  This responsibility was switched to the Department of Housing and Local Government on 12th December 1957, under Henry Brooke, and his Minister of State, Lord Brecon, a former Brecon county councillor, Vivian Lewis.

*  Meanwhile the Council for Wales itself re-stated the case for a Welsh Secretary in 1957 and when this was turned down by the Conservatives, Huw T. Edwards resigned 

*  The Labour Party created a Welsh Secretary after its victory in 1964 under Harold Wilson. The post was given Cabinet rank and its first holder was James Griffiths, MP for Llanelli.

*  During the 1980s and 1990s, as the Conservative had very few MPs for Welsh constituencies, they used the post as a way of getting English politicians with potential into the Cabinet.  

 On 1 July 1999, the majority of the functions of the Welsh Office were transferred to the new Welsh Assembly Government, with the position of Secretary of State for Wales retained as the head of the newly created Wales Office.  

The Princess and the Goblin, released on 12th December 1992, was the first animated feature from Wales. It was primarily produced by S4C in the Siriol studios in Cardiff.

A peasant boy and a beautiful princess team up to rid their kingdom of evil goblins, which they attempt to do through the powers of song and love and a magical thread.  

Set in the fictitious village of Llanellwy in Wales and released on 12th December 1941, The Wolf Man was one of the first films in the ware wolf horror genre.  It starred the legendary Lon Chaney as the protagonist.

The death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and The Battle of Orewin Bridge on 11th December 1282.

In 1282, Llywelyn and his brother Dafydd were engaged in a bitter struugle with Edward I of England to keep Wales independent.  Edward continued to send armies into Wales and one consisting of 2000 infantrymen and 200 cavalrymen succeeded in capturing Anglesey.  However the routing of this army by Llywelyn on 6th November 1282, boosted Welsh morale and when Edward  turned to diplomacy, offering Llywelyn a large estate in England if he would surrender, Llywelyn refused,  stating that he would not abandon the people whom his ancestors had protected.  Llywelyn instead left Dafydd to lead the defence of Gwynedd and took a force himself to rally support in mid and south Wales, arriving at Builth on December 11th 1282.  Builth Castle at the time was held by the English and was where they had amassed a force of around 5,000 infantry and 1,300 heavy cavalry under the command of Edmund Mortimer, John Giffard and Roger l'Estrange to intercept Llywelyn.  The Welsh numbering 7,000 infantry camped on high ground near Cilmeri, just outside of Builth, with the two forces separated by the River Irfon, whose main crossing point at Orewin bridge was held by Llywelyn's men.

It is then, according to one version, that Llywelyn was tricked into attending a meeting with Edmund Mortimer at Aberedw, who deceiptfully claimed that he wished to give homage to Llywelyn.  In Llywelyn's absence, the English army advanced on the Welsh position and a small detachent forded the river further upstream and took the bridge.  The whole English now army now crossed and engaged the leaderless Welsh army.  Upon hearing the noise of the battle,  Llywelyn realised that he had been tricked and immediately headed back with his entourage to assume command.  They were ambushed and overwhelmed.  Llywelyn lay mortally wounded and asked for a priest, but when recognized, he was instantly killed and his head cut off and sent to Edward at Rhuddlan, who then took it to London, put on it an ivory crown and placed it on the gate of the Tower of London, where it stayed for 15 years. 

The death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd marked the end of  an independent Wales.  Resistance continued for a while under Dafydd, but by June of the following year, he too had been captured and executed, with his head displayed next to that of Llywelyn.

There is uncertainty as to Llywelyn's final resting place, with the Cistercian Abbey at Abbeycwmhir the site suggested by most historians, although he is also said to have been laid to rest in land where Llanrumney Hall was later built in Cardiff.   

A time line of the life of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last prince of an independent Wales;

c. 1223 - Llywelyn was born the second of Gruffydd and Senena, the brother of Owain, Dafydd and Rhodri and the grandson of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great).

1240 -  Following the death of his grandfather, Llywelyn's uncle, Dafydd ap Llywelyn succeeded him as ruler of Gwynedd.  He imprisoned Llywelyn's father Gruffydd and his brother Owain and transferred them into the custody of King Henry III of England.

1244 - Llywelyn's father died from a fall while trying to escape from the Tower of London and Llywelyn is first heard of holding lands in the Vale of Clwyd.

1245 - Llywelyn supported his uncle in the war against King Henry. 

1247 - THE TREATY OF WOODSTOCK - After the death of his uncle, Llywelyn and his brother Owain came to terms with King Henry.  Gwynedd was divided with Llywelyn and Owain gaining control of  Gwynedd Uwch Conwy (Gwynedd west of the River Conwy) and Henry himself taking control of Gwynedd Is Conwy (Gwynedd east of the River Conwy).

1255 - THE BATTLE OF BRYN DERWIN - Llywelyn's brothers, Owain and Dafydd formed an alliance against him, but Llywelyn defeated and captured both of them, thereby becoming sole ruler of Gwynedd Uwch Conwy.

1256 - Llywelyn, crossed the River Conwy with an army, accompanied by his brother, Dafydd, whom he had released from prison and took control of most of Gwynedd.

1258 - Llywelyn began using the title Prince of Wales, which the English Crown refused to recognise.

1263 - Dafydd switched his allegiance to King Henry.

1264 - Simon de Montfort, leader of the barons revolt in England, became the "uncrowned King of England" after defeating King Henry and Prince Edward at the Battle of Lewes.

1265 - TREATY OF PIPTON - established an alliance between Llywelyn and de Montfort in which, in exchange for 30,000 marks, there would be a permanent peace and Llywelyn's right to rule Wales would be acknowledged.

1265 - de Montfort was killed at the Battle of Evesham, which led to Llywelyn capturing Hawarden Castle and routing the combined armies of Hamo Lestrange and Maurice Fitz Gerald in order to gain a bargaining position with King Henry

1266 - Llywelyn routed Roger Mortimer's army in Brycheiniog.  After which, with the backing of the papal legate, Ottobuono, he opened negotiations with King Henry.

1267 -  TREATY OF MONTGOMERY - marked the high point of Llywelyn's power.  He was recognised as the Prince of Wales well as retaining the lands he had conquered and the homage of almost all the native rulers of Wales.  In exchange, he was to pay a tribute to King Henry of 25,000 marks in yearly instalments of 3,000 marks

1268 - Caerphilly Castle was built by Gilbert de Clare as a result of a dispute with Llywelyn.

1272 - Following the death of King Henry and with the new king, Edward I away on crusade, Humphrey de Bohun tried to take back Brycheiniog, Llywelyn ceased making payments in reply.

1274 - Dafydd and Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn of Powys attempted to assassinate Llywelyn.

1275 - Llywelyn refused to pay homage to Edward I at Chester and declared his intention to marry Simon de Montfort's daughter, Eleanor.  Edward took exception to the marriage and imprisoned her.

1276 - Edward declared Llywelyn a rebel

1277 - TREATY OF ABERCONWY - was the result of Edward supported by Dafydd and Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn marching into Wales and taking possession of the harvest in Anglesey, which deprived Llywelyn of the ability to feed his men and forced him to seek terms.  The treaty secured the release of Eleanor, allowing her marriage to Llywelyn to proceed and also guaranteed peace in Gwynedd in return for Llywelyn confining his authority to Gwynedd Uwch Conwy and acknowledging the English king as his sovereign. 

1282  Dafydd returned to the Welsh cause.  He attacked the English at Hawarden Castle and Rhuddlan.  He captured and burned Aberystwyth Castle and open rebellion broke out in Ystrad Tywi.  Llywelyn in grief at the loss of Eleanor, who died shortly after giving birth to their daughter Gwenllian, felt  the Welsh were ill-prepared, but felt obliged, to support his brother.  Edward's forces captured Gwynedd Is Conwy and Anglesey but were heavily defeated in the Battle of Moel y Don.  This encouraged Llywelyn to try and rally support in mid and south Wales, but he was killed on 11th December at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells.

On December 11th 2012, Dr Lyn Evans "Evans the Atom" from Aberdare was awarded the Special Fundamental Physics Prize.  He is the project leader of  European Organization for Nuclear Research's attempt to understand the "Big Bang Theory" by use of the Large Hadron Collider. 

*  The Fundamental Physics Prize is awarded to physicists involved in fundamental research. It is the most lucrative academic prize in the world. 

*  The European Organization for Nuclear Research ( CERN ), is an international organization which operates the world's largest particle physics laboratory, providing the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research.  It is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

*  The Large Hadron Collider is a 17-mile-long doughnut-shaped tunnel that lies beneath the French-Swiss border, at depths ranging from 170ft to 600ft.  Its purpose is to recreate the conditions that existed a fraction of a second after the Big Bang – the birth of the universe – and provide vital clues to the building blocks of life.  

Bridget Bevan (1698 – 11 December 1779) - financial supporter and manager of the Circulating Welsh Charity School system, that it is estimated taught over 200,000 Welsh people to read and helped Wales achieve one of the highest literacy rates in Europe.

Bridget Bevan was born at Derllys Court, Llannewydd in Carmarthenshire, the daughter of  John Vaughan, a financial supporter of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) schools. In 1721, she married Arthur Bevan, an MP for Carmarthen and  local lawyer. 

In 1731, she helped Griffith Jones, a local preacher to establish an experimental school in Llanddowror, Carmarthenshire, which was the fore runner of the Circulating Welsh Charity School system, which moved from village to village throughout Wales, educating the children and adults.  After Jones's death in 1761, she took on the management of the project and between 1736 and 1776, it is estimated that half the population of Wales had attended a circulating school.  

Born on this day 1948 in Port Talbot 

Allan Martin - former Wales and Lions rugby international,  who was a specialist line-out forward, also noted for his long distance goal-kicking 

Martin, who won 34 caps for Wales, formed the second-row partnership with Geoff Wheel that was the backbone of the successful Welsh team of the 1970s, that won grand slams in 1976 and 1978 and triple crowns in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979.  He also toured with the Lions to New Zealand in 1977 and South Africa in 1980. Martin played club rugby for Aberavon RFC, with over 780 appearances from 1966 to 1992. 

  Today is the feast day of Saint Peris

Saint Peris c.570 - Legend says that Peris was one of the many children of Helig ap Glannawg of the lost Land of Tyno Helig (the Great Orme, nr Llandudno). It is said he was a 'Cardinal of Rome' who retired to the solitude of Nant Peris (Snowdonia), which along with the nearby village of Llanberis is named after him. Ffynnon Peris is a well nearby in which Peris, according to tradition, kept two fish and drank from daily.

The legend of Llys Helig (Helig's Palace) and the lost Land of Tyno Helig;

Helig ap Glannawg was the prince of Tyno Helig, whose lands stretched from Flintshire in the east, to beyond Conwy in the west. 

Helig`s daughter Gwendud fell in love with Tathal, whose father was the Lord of Snowdon.  However, they could not marry because Tathal did wear a golden torque, which was the symbol of a nobleman.

Undeterred, Tathal killed a Scottish chieftain who was being held prisoner and who he had gained the trust of and stole his golden torque. Gwendud could now marry Tethal,  but at their wedding party, the murdered Scottish chieftain's ghost told them that he would gain his revenge over the fourth generation of their family.

Subsequently, at the celebration to mark the birth of their great-great-grandchild, a maid was sent to the cellar to get more wine, only to find it flooded by sea-water.  She alerted her lover, the court minstrel and they ran for their lives.  They were just out of the palace when they heard the crashing of mighty waves behind them.   They eventually escaped the chasing waves, but when they looked back the following morning, Helig's palace had been consumed by the sea.

Legend has it that the ruins of the palace can still be seen at very low tides and there is an area to the west of the Great Orme, that is still known as Llys Helig.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, released on 11th November, is a 1958 American 20th Century Fox film.  It tells the story of a maid who became a missionary in China during the build up to World War II.   Snowdonia was used for the exterior locations.

The Welshman whose engineering feat in 1613, brought clean drinking water to London and thereby helped save thousands of lives. 

Sir Hugh Myddelton (1560 – 10 December 1631) the sixth son of Richard Myddelton, governor of Denbigh Castle, travelled to seek his fortune in London and embarked on an entrepreneurial career which took in textiles, mining, engineering, jewellery and politics, succeeding his father as the Denbigh Boroughs MP and being appointed Royal Jeweller by King James I.  

In the early 17th Century, London's population had exploded and sanitation was a serious problem. It was decided that the answer was to construct an artificial river to bring clean drinking water into the heart of London. Myddleton's idea was to divert the water from the River Lea in Hertfordshire to Clerkenwell in the city of London and he was also able to persuade King James to invest 50% of the capital backing which swept away all objections from land owners along the route. 

At almost 35 miles long, the New River travelled at a gradient of just five inches per mile and used systems of culverts and aqueducts which hadn't been seen in Britain since Roman times. Myddleton's artificial New River took five years to construct, but had an almost instantaneous benefit, as by 1614, deaths, which can now be attributed to water-borne infections, had halved on the previous year. Sir Hugh Myddleton is still remembered in the names of streets and buildings across the English capital. 

On 10th December 2007,  Cardiff University Professor, Sir Martin Evans received the Nobel Prize for Medicine from His Majesty the King of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm.

Professor Evans's ground breaking work on embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals. is helping in the treatment of cancers, diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases.  He has also been instrumental in making Cardiff University a world-leading centre for biomedical research.  

On 10th December 1880, a gas explosion took the lives of 101 miners out of the 106 who were working at the Naval Colliery in Penygraig, Rhondda.

A history of coal mining in Penygraig;

1857  Coal mining began when Thomas Ellis sank a drift mine.

1858  Moses Rowlands and Richard Jenkins discovered a seam and opened the Penygraig Colliery, after which the village was named. It was later owned by the Naval Colliery Company

1875  On 4th December, a flood broke through into the mine, resulting in two miners drowning.

1879  After the Penygraig Colliery showed a successful profit the Naval Colliery Company opened a second deep pit, The Pandy.

1880  On 10th December, a gas explosion took the lives of 101 miners out of the 106 who were working in the mine at the time.

1884  On 27th January, another explosion led to the death of fourteen men.

1887   The Pandy was sold to the New Naval Colliery Company, which then opened three more deep mines The Ely, the Nantgwyn and the Anthony Pits.

The New Naval company later become part of the Cambrian Combine, owned by Viscount Rhondda and the Ely Colliery would be the centre of the Cambrian Combine dispute, which in turn would lead to the Tonypandy Riots in 1910.  

Edmund Mortimer, born 10 December 1376 at Ludlow Castle was the great-grandson of King Edward III and son in law of Owain Glyndwr. 

Both Edmund Mortimer and his brother-in-law, Henry 'Hotspur' Percy, fought for Henry IV against Glyndŵr. However in 1402 Mortimer was defeated and taken prisoner at the Battle of Bryn Glas.  He transferred his allegiance to Glyndwr, after Henry IV, refused to pay a ransom for his release and married Glyndŵr's daughter, Catrin.  He then proclaimed his intention to make his nephew, also Edmund Mortimer, King of England. 

In 1405 Glyndwr, Mortimer and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland entered into an agreement called tripartite indenture which proposed a threefold division of the kingdom in which Mortimer was to have most of the south of England.  However, Mortimer died in 1409, either during or shortly after the siege of Harlech Castle by Henry, Prince of Wales (the future Henry V). 

Edmund Mortimer and Catrin ferch Owain had one son, Lionel, and three daughters and after Mortimer's death, the King had Catrin and her children brought to  the Tower of London, where she and two of her daughters died in 1413 and were buried at St Swithin. 

Born on this day 1753 in Ynyscynhaearn, Caernarfonshire.

Richard Thomas - Anglican priest and antiquarian, whose catalogue of important Welsh manuscripts from the library at Peniarth, along with his own collection of manuscripts, were used by the editors of the Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales.

The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales is a printed collection of medieval Welsh literature, published in three volumes by the London-based Welsh cultural group, The Gwyneddigion Society, between 1801 and 1807, who searched Wales for manuscripts. Although the majority of its material is genuine, it does contain some of Iolo Morganwg's forgeries, but was a respected and respectable companion for writers and scholars in Wales and beyond during most of the nineteenth century.

Volume one, published in 1801, attempted to collect all Welsh poetry prior to 1370.

Volume two, also published in 1801, refers to chronicles and other documents of a historical nature, including the Welsh Triads, Brut y Brenhinedd and Brut y Tywysogian.

Volume three, published in 1807, contained didactic literature, laws and music.  

On 10th December 1768, The Royal Academy of Arts was founded through a personal act of King George III.  The distinguished landscape painter, Richard Wilson from Penegoes, near Machynlleth, was one of its 34 founder members. 

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. It is an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects, with its purpose to promote appreciation of the visual arts.   

The New Theatre, Cardiff, was officially opened on 10th December 1906.  It has a capacity of 1,144 and was the venue for the world premiere of Harold Pinter's play The Homecoming on 26th March 1965.

 Before moving to the Millennium Centre, the.Welsh National Opera had its headquarters at the New Theatre and in 1993, Sir Anthony Hopkins unveiled a bronze bust there of the writer Gwyn Thomas.  The theatre has been a Grade II listed building since 1975. 

Born on this day 1946 in Swansea

Mervyn Davies - former Wales captain and Lions international, who was instantly recognisable with his thick white headband and moustache.

Davies was educated at Penlan Boys School and Swansea College of Education, after which he secured a teaching post in Guildford and began playing for London Welsh.

Davies was a sensation, earning the nickname "Merv the Swerve", due to his deceptive running and was given his international debut, within 3 months.  He went on to win two grand slams, with Wales and was a crucial member of the Lions series winning teams in  New Zealand in 1971 and  South Africa in 1974. 

Davies suffered an injury which caused bleeding in the brain and ended his career in 1076 and in a poll of Welsh fans in 2001, he was voted the greatest ever Wales No 8 and captain. 

Donny Osmond was born on this day 1957 in Ogden, Utah 

Osmond with his six older brothers and younger sister were raised as Mormons by their parents Olive May Osmond (née Davis) and George Virl Osmond.

Along with five of his brothers, he was a member of the popular singing group The Osmonds.   Donny went solo in the early 1970s, with hits such as "Go Away Little Girl"  and "Puppy Love", before performing with his sister Marie, as Donny & Marie, an act that has been headlining in Las Vegas since 2008. 

Osmond traced his family ancestry back to Merthyr Tydfil, during a documentary for BBC Wales entitled, Donny Osmond Coming Home.   

  On 9th December 2007, "Joe" Calzaghe became BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Joseph William "Joe" Calzaghe is a former undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the World, who retired in February 2009 with an undefeated record and the longest continual time as world champion of any active fighter.

"Super Joe" is sometimes referred to as the "Pride of Wales," or the "Italian Dragon" in reference to his mixed heritage.  He was born in Hammersmith, London, to his Sardinian father Enzo Calzaghe and his Welsh mother Jackie and the family moved to Newbridge when he was two years old.  Calzaghe was the first person to be awarded the Freedom of Caerphilly in 2009.   

During World War One, the 53rd (Welsh) Division was one of the three Divisions which bore the brunt of the fighting against the Turkish army in Palestine, prior to them capturing Jerusalem on 9th December 1917.  

  Born on this day 1575 in Abergavenny. 

David Baker, who as Dom Augustine Baker, was instrumental in re-establishing the Benedictines in Britain. 

Father Baker studied law at Oxford, where he also lost his faith in the existence of God, but refound his faith after surviving a near death experience and gave up his work  to become a Benedictine monk in Italy.  He then traveled the Continent, giving  legal advice to Benedictine Houses.

Then in 1638, Father Baker was sent on a mission to England, to re-establish the Benedictine order.  He lived constantly under the threat of being discovered and after three years, he was on the point of being captured when he contracted a contagious fever which scared away his persecutors.  However, Father Baker was to subsequently die in concealment.

Born on this day 1760 in Llanbradach, near Caerphilly

Morgan John Rhys - radical evangelical Baptist minister, who emigrated to America in 1794 after falling out of favour with the establishment for his views supporting the French Revolution, the abolition of slavery and parliamentary reform.  In America, he changed his surname to Rhees and is crediting with establishing the Welsh colony of Cambria in Pensylvania, where the language, culture and religion of Wales was dominant.  

Born on this day 1977 in Aberystwyth

Stephen Jones - former Wales rugby captain and Lions international.  Jones won 104 caps and two Grand Slams with Wales in 2005 and 2008.  He is also the second-highest Wales point scorer.  Jones played the majority of his career with Llanelli Scarlets, apart from short spells at Clermont Auvergne, where he was chosen by French journalists as the fly-half of the season and at London Wasps, where he retired from professional rugby in 2013 to take up a coaching position and more recently, The Scarlets.  

Richard Llewellyn (real name Richard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd) was a novelist, born of Welsh parents in Hendon, north London on 8th December 1906.

Llewellyn is best remembered as the author of the internationally acclaimed novel "How Green Was My Valley", which was later made into a classic Hollywood film, depicting life in the South Wales coal mining communities.   

On 8th December 1980, John Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark Chapman who had asked the former Beatle for his autograph only hours before laying in wait and killing him.

One of John Lennon's Welsh connections, was his maternal aunt, Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith (both maternal grand parents were Welsh) who was also Lennon's parental guardian.  Lennon lived with Mimi and her husband George Smith for most of his childhood, after his mother Julia had handed him over to them and when The Beatles became successful, Lennon bought her a home in Poole in Dorset.  

The monastery on Caldey Island was first established in the sixth century and the Welsh name for the island is   Ynys Bŷr,  named after St Pyr, an early abbot.  Also located on the island, is St Illtyd's Church, which contains the Caldey Stone, which dates to the 5th or 6th Century.  It has inscriptions both in Latin and in the ancient Ogham script which originated in Ireland, bearing the name of ‘Dubricius’ (St. Dyfrig) who was an early Bishop of Llandaff and who would visit Cadley Island each year for Lent. 

Other points of interest regarding Caldey Island; 

*   Caldey Island consists of two islands which are separated at high tide, they are called Caldey Island and Little Caldey Island. Little Caldey Island is also known as St Margaret's Island. 

*  The name Caldey is derived from the Viking  keld eye , meaning "cold island"

*  In the 12th century, a priory was established by Benedictine monks, which lasted until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.

*  The current abbey was built in 1910 by Anglican Benedictine monks but financial problems beginning in 1925 led to the 1929 purchase of the property by Belgian Cistercians.

*  Caldey Lighthouse was built in 1828.  The light was intended to help coastal traffic trading limestone and coal to mid and north Wales, but it also helped long-distance and north American traffic identify the Bristol Channel and avoid confusion with the English Channel. 

*  The island issues its own postage stamps and has its own currency called the Dab meaning “flat fish”,

*  The island’s economic activity is supported by tourism and agriculture and has factories and farms, mainly involving the monks, who make cheese, perfumes and other products.