1882 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1882 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

Events

10 January – The vessels Constancia and Primus attempt to pass through a lock at Newport Docks at the same time and a collision results. The lock is blocked and the vessels already in the dock are trapped for nearly two weeks. The resulting losses eventually culminate in the demise of the Newport Dock Company a year later.
February – Charles Wilkins launches the English-language periodical The Red Dragon in Cardiff.
11 February – Six miners are killed in an accident at the Lewis Merthyr Colliery.
3 March – Five miners are killed in an accident at the Henwaen Colliery, Blaina.
20 October
* The steamer Clan MacDuff sinks off Holyhead, resulting in 32 deaths.
* The Victory, a Bideford schooner carrying coal from Cardiff to Waterford, sinks near Ballyteique with the loss of all crew.
1 November – An Austrian barque, the Petroslava, is wrecked on Skokholm with the loss of 10 of its 11 crew members.
16 November – The new Fishguard Lifeboat Station boat Sir Edward Perrott is launched 5 times and rescues 46 lives from 15 different vessels.
Anti-Irish riots break out at Tredegar.
Lager is brewed at Wrexham, for the first time in the UK.
Brains Brewery opens in Cardiff.
St Catharine's Church, Baglan, is consecrated.
The Welsh Charity School in Ashford, Surrey, becomes girls-only and changes its name to the Welsh Girls' School.
Plymouth Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil is closed.
Slate workings in Cwm Llan on Snowdon are closed because of the expense of transporting the slate to a port.

Arts and literature

The Cambrian Academy of Art becomes the 'Royal Cambrian Academy of Art' after gaining patronage from Queen Victoria.

Awards

National Eisteddfod of Wales – held at Denbigh

Chair – No Winner
Crown – Dafydd Rees Williams

New books

Richard Davies (Mynyddog) – Pedwerydd Llyfr Mynyddog
Frances Hoggan – ''Education for Girls in Wales''

Sport

Football
*25 February - John Price becomes the first Welsh footballer to score [List of Wales national rugby union team|Wales national football team hat-tricks|a hat-trick in an international match], when he produces four of the goals in a 7–1 win against Ireland.
*Druids win the Welsh Cup for the third time in its five-year history.
Rugby Union
*Bargoed RFC, Loughor RFC, Pentyrch RFC and Pontardawe RFC are formed.
*First Wales national game against Ireland. Result sees first Welsh victory and first points scored, by Newport's Thomas Baker Jones.

Births

3 January – Johnnie Williams, Wales international rugby player
3 February – Arthur Jenkins, politician
3 February – Harry Wetter, Wales international rugby union player
11 February – Gwendoline Davies, patron of the arts
5 April – Howell Jones, Wales international rugby player
7 May – Reggie Gibbs, Wales international rugby player
24 July – Reginald Clarry, politician
6 September – Tommy Vile, Wales international rugby player
14 September – Jack Powell, Wales international rugby player
30 September – Charlie Pritchard, Wales international rugby player
13 October – Trevor Preece, cricketer
6 November – David Rees Griffiths, poet
8 November – Jack Williams, Wales international rugby player
21 November – Harold Lowe, officer on board RMS Titanic
16 December – Cyril Fox, archaeologist
31 December – Tom Evans, Wales international rugby player
date unknown – Ivor Lewis, artist

Deaths

9 January – Joseph Edwards, sculptor, 69
8 March – William Bulkeley Hughes, politician, 84
30 March – William Menelaus, ironworks manager, 64
21 April – George Grant Francis, antiquary, 68
20 June – David Thomas, industrialist, 87
24 June – Thomas Jones, poet-preacher, 62
15 July – John Petherick, engineer and traveller, 69
24 August – John Dillwyn Llewelyn, botanist and photographer, 72
8 October – Mary Davies, poet, 35
21 November – Banastyre Pryce Lloyd, linguist and civil servant, 58
16 December – Alfred Ollivant, Bishop of Llandaff, 84