1955 Most wartime rations and controls had ended.

31st Dec General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make sales of over one billion dollars in a year

20th Dec Cardiff is crowned capital of Wales

1955 = Guinness Book of Records first published - compiled by Ross & Norris McWhirter of Cardiff

29th Oct First use of videotape in US network television programming

29 Oct Suez Crisis begins: Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal. 

31 Oct 1956 = Britain invades Suez

Richard Wenner born
First Hard Drive (5MB) demonstrated by IBM

24th May Last commercial fish catch landed at the Bute West Dock.

30th May Bath and West show held in Cardiff for the 13th and last time.

25th Dec First TV broadcast of the Queen's Christmas Day message.

10th Apr Jacob Epsteins statue Christ in Majesty in Llandaff Cathedral was consecrated and the nave was rehallowed.

23rd May Last issue of Cardiff Times published.

25th Nov Joe Erskine wins Commonwealth heavyweight title.

5th May First experimental transmissions of a 625-line television service.

16th Oct Richards 2nd birthday.  First broadcast of Britain's longest running children's television show Blue Peter.

14th Jan Television Wales and the West begins transmissions from Cardiff and Bristol

 The Coal Exchange closed in 1958 

5th Feb Wales beat Israel at Ninian Park to qualify for the World Cup Finals (first and only time)

26th Feb YWCA opens Newport Road

18th Apr Wales Empire Pool officially opens

3rd May Festival of Wales begins

19th May Labour Party take conttrl of Cardiff City Council for the first time.

23rd June First Llandaff Festival begins

25h June First Welsh Swimming and Diving Championships began in the Wales Empire Pool

18th July Opening Ceremony for the VI Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff Arms Park

6th May Plane crash near Maindy stadium kills four men

31st Dec Pubs allowed to stay open for 15 minutes to see New Year in. 

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10 May The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus completes the first under water circumnavigation of the earth. 

21 Mar Massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa: Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
 16 Oct Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at a General Assembly of the United Nations meeting to protest discussion of Soviet Union policy toward Eastern Europe. 4 days to Richard birthday

2 Nov Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case. 

31 Dec The farthing coin, used in Great Britain since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender. 

31 Dec  National Service abolished

1960 The restoration of Llandaff Cathedral is completed after a German landmine destroyed sections of it in 1941

5th Jan Cardiff Aero plane Club (oldest in Wales) closes.

31st Mar Maindy Barracks closed as a basic training depot after 80 years

8th July Statue of David Lloyd George unveiled by Prime Minister Harold Macmillian

1st Aug First day of the 4th National Eisteddfod to be held in Cardiff

28th July First 50mph speed limits in Cardiff on the eastern and western approaches at St Mellons and St Nicholas

24th Aug Ninian Park floodlit for the first time.

28th Nov First editions of the Western Mail and the South Wales Echo published from Thompson House.

4th Dec River Taff overflows seriously effecting the Gabalfa Estate and leaving Cardiff Arms Park under 4 feet of water.

20 Jan John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States 

12 Apr Yuri Gagarin is the first human in space.

25 May President Kennedy announces his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the moon" before the end of the decade. 'Apollo'. 

13 Aug Construction of the Berlin Wall begins. Movement between East Berlin and West Berlin remains restricted for the next 28 years, until November 9, 1989..

31 Dec The Marshall Plan expires after having distributed more than $12 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe. Ireland's first national telvision station, Teilif�s �ireann, (later RT�) begins broadcasting.. 

1st May First betting shops opened in Cardiff.

17th July Cardiff's first Cinema bingo club opened at the Coliscum Canton.

22nd July Last Taff Swim held in Roath Park Lake

18th Aug City Council agrees to buy the one acre Grey Friars site where Capital Tower now stands for �206,000

2nd Sept Regent Cinema Ely closed

13th Nov Pubs in Cardiff open on Sunday for the first time since 1881

30th Dec Gaumont Theatre (formally The Empire) Queen Street closed

Spacewar! on the PDP-1. It's 2 player. And it's graphical. And it is 9K.

20 Feb John Glen circles Earth

10 Jul Telstar the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
23Jul Transmissions begin

By 1962 and an escalation in holiday charter business had resulted in passengers exceeding 100,000 and by 1965 control of the airport was transferred from the Ministry of Defense to Glamorgan County Council.

15th Jan Smallpox outbreak in South Wales - inoculations begin

29th June Open air service held at the Cathedral Green as part of celebrations to commemorate 1400th anniversary of Christianity to the area.

22 Nov JFK assassinated in Dallas

9th Sept The introduction of an all diesel Cardiff-London Paddington service marks the end of steam as a main line service. 

1st Oct The pedestrian subway under the River Ely from Ferry Road to Penarth closed.

31st Oct Bishop of Llandaff officially opened.

5th Nov Gabalfa Estate flooded by the River Taff

13 Jan I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles released in the United States. It will become their first American hit and the beginning of Beatlemania. 

18 Jan Esther Armstrong Scottish Landscape Artist born in Dingwall, Scotland. Plans to build the World Trade Center announced. 

20 Jan Meet the Beatles, the first Beatles album in the United States, is released 

28 Mar Radio Caroline arrives

20th Apr BBC2 starts broadcasting  existing BBC TV renamed BBC (wont mention or show the power failure)

19 Dec Radio London, goes on the air. Regular programmes began on 23 December 23

21 Dec  Death penalty abolished in Britain

31st Jan Bute West Dock closes

25th Aug Last cargo of coal to leave Cardiff was shipped in "Farringay" from Queen Alexandra Dock

18th Oct Welsh Office established.

Winston Churchill dies

Early Bird, the first communications satellite was launched.

10th June Urdd Gobaith Cymru National Eisteddfod starts in Cardiff

27th Oct Royal College of Nursing building at the Heath officially opened.

16th Apr Last trolleybus runs from Wood Street to Llandaff Fields.

21st Apr Buchanan Plan published for the redevelopment of Cardiff

8th Apr Welsh Nation Book of Remembrance containing 12,351 names was dedicated in a service at Llandaff Cathedral attended by the Queen Mother

7th July Dental Hospital opened at University Hospital

22nd Sept The Cardiff Queen, the last sea-going paddle steamer was taken out of service. 

7th Oct First floodlit game at the Cardiff Arms Park. (Cardiff beat Barbarians 12-8)

HTV Starts transmissions in Wales

1967 = Opening up of Wimbledon to professional players

1967 = Welsh Language Act

1967 = Building of Milton Keynes New Town started

1967 = First North Sea Gas piped to mainland

1967 = Emergence of Flower Power

18 Mar Supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off Lands End. 

7 Apr The Six-Day War was a war fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan and Syria. As a result of the war, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day.

1st Jul Regular colour TV transmissions  begin on BBC2, starting with the Wimbledon tennis championships.

14 Aug Many stations plan shutting down due to impending introduction of Marine Broadcasting (Offences) Act at midnight. Radio London station closed at 15:00; Radio Scotland and Radio 270 closed just minutes before midnight. Radio Caroline became Radio Caroline International and kept broadcasting....

30th Sept Radio 1 2 3 and 4 born.

25 Oct Abortion bill passes in parliament. 

8th Nov Radio Leicester becomes first BBC Local Radio station

3 Dec Christiaan Barnard. performs first heart transplant operation.

18th Feb Colin Jackson born

27th Feb Gareth Llywellyn born in Cardiff

1st March BBC Llandaff studios officially opened.

1st Apr  Cardiff's boundaries extended to include Rhiwbina and Whitchurch

21st Aug Colour TV transmitted to Cardiff (BBC2 only)

16th Nov Bomb damages the Temple of Peace Cathays Park

9th Dec Heavy snow disrupts life in Cardiff

2nd Jan Dr. Christian Barnard performs the first successful heart transplant

5th Jan "Prague Spring" begins in Czechoslovakia 

1st Apr Cardiff police absorbed into South Wales Police

25th May Bomb explodes in the Welsh Office

2nd July Torrential rain causes widespread flooding in Cardiff

18th Sept Llandaff designated a conservation area

20th July
July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong was seen on television by millions of people around the world  walking on the surface of the moon.

1969 = Open University founded 

1969 = Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle

1969 = British troops sent to Northern Ireland to keep the peace

5 Mar 1969 = London gangsters the Kray twins sentenced to life

1st Nov BBC Starts Colour broadcasts

The United Kingdom began sending troops into Northern Ireland to stop riots and protests there.

28th Jan Peacocks reintroduced to Cardiff Castle

15th Apr Bomb explodes in Police HQ Cathays Park

29th Apr Bomb explodes in the CEGB HQ in Cardiff.

8th May Dafydd Hughes (Plasmawr) elected first-ever Plaid Cymru councillor on Cardiff City Council 

5th Sept Glamorgan survive an unbeaten season to win the county cricket championship.

15th Sept Demolition of the Walnut Tree railway viaduct began.

13th Dec New North Stand at Cardiff Arms Park used for the first time.

18th Dec Walnut Tree viaduct closed

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Color TV comes to Cardiff

11 Feb John Lennon pays �1,344 in fines for 96 people who had protested against the South African rugby team playing in Scotland. 

Mar Direct dial telephone calls possible between Europe and the US

11 Apr Apollo 13 ill-fated space mission launched 
17 Apr - Apollo 13 returns safely to earth 

31st Jan Bute East Dock closes

1st Mar First one man operated buses introduced to Cardiff

Cardiff City's biggest victory in the European Cup Winners Cup 8-0 against Larnaca at Ninian Park.

1971 = Decimalisation of British currency

1st Jan Open University programmes start on Radio and TV and British divorce Reform Act comes into force 

2 Jan 1971 = 66 die when barriers collapse at Ibrox Park 

4th Feb Rolls Royce goes bankrupt taken under state control 

15 Feb 1971 = British currency goes decimal

15 Nov Intel releases world's first microprocessor, the 4004

21st May Duke of Edinburgh officially opens the new Music Department at the University in Corbett Road.

26th July Nicolette Milnes-Walker of Cardiff becomes the first woman to sail single handed across the Atlantic

19th Nov University Hospital Wales and Eastern Avenue were officially opened by the Queen.

3rd Dec First three miles of A470 Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil trunk road opened between Manor Way and Nantgarw.

1972 = The Sports Council set up

1972 = Sir John Betjeman appointed Poet Laureate

1972 = Establishment of the British Library

9th Jan RMS Queen Elizabeth is destroyed by fire in Hong Kong harbour.

22 Jan 1972 = Britain joins the EEC

24th Jan Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi discovered in Guam. He had spent 28 years in the jungle

30th Jan Army shots 13 Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland " Bloody Sunday".

Feb 1972 = Miners strike leads to power 

9th Feb Government declares a state of emergency over a miners' strike cuts

Explosion at world's largest coal mine kills 427 (Wankie Rhodesia)

1st Mar Chapter Art Centre opened

10th Apr James Howells department store sold to House of Frazer

14th May The first of two cooling towers on Colchester Avenue blown up.

21st May Second cooling tower demolished

12th June National Sports Centre, Sophia Gardens officially opened.

28th July Posthouse Hotel Eastern Avenue opened.

2nd Sept The filling of the West Bute Dock completed. 

2nd Nov First baby born at Heath Hospital Maternity Unit

25th Nov Earl Haig Club (now Clwb Ifor Bach) severely damaged by fire.

LBC First ILR Station

16 Oct Another birthday for Richard Capital Radio London becomes 2nd ILR Commercial Station 

17 Dec 1973 = Three day week introduced

29th Jan �28 million Hook Road scheme abandoned 1800 houses saved.

5th Apr Y Dinesydd Cardiff's first Welsh language community  newspaper launched.

7th May Cardiff General Station become Cardiff Central

10th May First elections for the new Cardiff City District Council.

16th May Cardiff Crest Hotel in Castle Street (now Posthouse) opened.

9th June Annual Miners' Gala celebrated 75th anniversary of the founding of the South Wales Miners' Federation in Cardiff.

29th Nov Ryan Giggs born in St David's hospital.

1974 = Introduction of Capital Transfer Tax (replaced by inheritance tax)

1974 = Sadler's Wells Opera became English National Opera

Feb 1974 = Scottish National Party won its first parliamentary seats

8th Aug US President Richard Nixon announces his resignation (effective 9 Aug). 

12 Nov  Lord Lucan escapes and disappears

21 Nov Two pubs in Birmingham are bombed, killing 21 people (the Birmingham Six were later sentenced to life in prison for this). 

23rd Mar local government reoranisation abolishes the old Cardiff City Council

9th Nov County Cinema Rumney closes

11th Dec First bi-lingual signs erected at Queen Street station

The first midibuses were introduced in 1974 although it was not until 1987 that midibus operation really developed - with the first of the "Clipper" buses. Although the first "driver only" buses operated in May 1923, the general conversion to one person operation commenced in the early seventies and was gradually extended to all our services by 1980 with the Snowden Road service being the last one to lose its conductors. The City Centre bus lanes were first introduced in the mid-seventies and are now even more important as traffic congestion worsens. The very popular Cardiff Multiride Ticket was first introduced in 1974 and has gone from strength to strength ever since, with Multiride facilities now also available for regular travellers on our Caerphilly, Newport, Barry and the rural Vale services.

Voters decide to remain in Common Market

29th Mar Roman Wall in Cardiff Castle opened to the public 

15th Apr Boulevard de Nantes dedicated marking twinning of Cardiff and Nantes.

13th Sept F1 Powerboat Championship held in the UK for the first time at Atlantic Wharf.

2nd Nov 2 subways were opened under North Road and Boulevard de Nantes and Queen Street was partly pedestrianised.

14th Nov The new Clarence Road Bridge opens

1st Dec St John Street Trinity Street and Hayes Island pedestrianised.

15th Dec Pat Thomas of Cardiff wins British welterweight title.

21 Jan The first commercial flight of Concorde.

1 Apr Apple Computers formed

4th Jul US Bicentennial 

4th Jul Israeli airborne commandos attack Uganda's Entebbe Airport freeing 103 hostages 

1976 = Welsh Development Agency set up

1976 = Development Board for Rural Wales set up

1976 = Benjamin Britten (Composer) died

Aug 1976 = Drought causes water shortages

29th July A major fire in Newport Road  destroys most of WNO sets

5th Apr James Callagham becomes first Cardiff MP to become PM

9th May First Open Day at Cardiff Airport causes severe traffic jams.

27th May ABC Queen Street - triple screen cinema opens.

3rd July Sealed Knot Society stage a re-enactment of the Battle of St Fagans as part of Cardiff's 1900th birthday celebrations.

9th Aug Water cuts begin in Cardiff during summer drought.

27th Aug Memorial sculpture placed on Flatholm to commemorate the worlds first radio transmission over water in 1897 (had to fit this in somewhere).

27th Mar Two Boeing 747's collide at Tenerife killing 583.

2 Apr  Red Rum wins the Grand National for the third time

16th April Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum opens

13th June First direct flights between Cardiff and Toronto begin.

21st July Cardiff Council sign �22m deal to redevelop area south of Queen Street

29th Sept Taff Vale closed - the last pub in Queen Street

21st Oct M4 between Tredegar Park and St Mellons opens.

3rd Nov Power cuts come to Cardiff as part of the power workers industrial action.

22nd Dec M4 between Pencoed and Coryton opened.

13 Dec  Jeremy Thorpe charged with incitement to murder

3 Apr Regular radio broadcasting of Parliament begins

20th Apr Last steel produced at East Moors

Spillers French Bakery in Maindee Road closes with the loss of 500 jobs.

28th Apr East Moors Steel Works closes.

12th July First draw of official Cardiff lottery

20th July Ely Leisure Centre opened - the first district leisure centre in Cardiff.

16th Sept Transport House, Cathedral Road,  opened

20th Sept Four men killed when a construction cradle fell 100 at South Gate House, Wood Street.

11 Feb Ayatollah took power in Iran.

4 May Margaret Thatcher becomes first woman Prime Minister

The British government allowed the people of Wales and Scotland to vote on whether or not they wanted to have their own legislatures. The vote did not pass.

9th Apr New Clarence Road bridge opened.

8th Sept Cardiff-based Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra becomes known as the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera.

11th Sept Pat Thomas of Cardiff won the British light-middleweight championship title in London.

18th Oct  A fire in the City Hall Dome causes �100,000 damage

19th Oct Nazareth House children's home officially opened by James Callaghan

21st Oct Concorde lands at Cardiff for the first time.

19th Nov HMS Cardiff the third warship to bear this name was commissioned in Portsmouth.

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11th Apr CBC Cardiff Broadcasting Company goes on air

26th July WRU begin centenary celebrations at Cardiff Arms Park.

Mar 1981 = Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed

29 Mar First London Marathon founded by Chris Brasher

Jul 1981 = Riots break out in 8 inner city areas

Adam Osbourne introduced the Osbourne I, the first successful portable computer.

12 Aug IBM released their new computer, re-named the IBM PC. The "PC" stood for "personal computer" making IBM responsible for popularizing the term "PC".4.77 MHz Intel 8088. The PC came equipped with 16 kilobytes of memory, expandable to 256k and one or two 160k floppy disk drives and an optional color monitor. The price tag started at �1,000, which would be nearly �3,000 today.

St David's Shopping Centre was built in 1981.

Cardiff won the South Wales Challenge Cup on 12th March 1881 against Llanelly (as then spelt). The competition was disbanded shortly afterwards due to persistent problems with the crowd. However, in more recent times, 

9th April Debenhams opens

9th June The wing tip of a Jumbo Jet smashes windows in the main lounge at Cardiff International Airport

27th Aug 36 women march to Greenham Common from Cardiff City Hall

30th Aug St Fagans won the Villiage Cricket Championship Trophy at Lords.

29th Oct Princess Diana given Freedom of Cardiff

17th Nov. Plaza Cinema North Road closes.

24th Mar St David's Centre officially opened

30th Apr River Taff flood protection scheme inaugurated.

1st June Pope John Paul II made first-ever Papal visit to Wales

8th June 5 soldiers and 1 sailor from Cardiff were killed on the Sir Galahad in Bluff Cove.

11th Sept First concert held in St. David's Hall

10th Oct 100 years since Sa and JR Brain bought the Old Brewery.

2nd Nov S4C launched

The first cellular phones came into use in the United States.

17 Jan Breakfast Time TV begins

Steve Robinson wins WBO featherweight title.

9th July Westgate Street Post Office closed after 86 years

4th Sept Centre for Sports Injuries opened at the National Sport Centre.

3rd Oct The first new railway station for 40 years opened in Cathays.

7th Apr Building of National stadium completed.

19th July A severe earthquake (5.4 on the Richter scale) with its epicentre in North Wales was felt in Cardiff.

17th Oct National Stadium Cardiff Arms Park officially opened.

23 Jan TV coverage of House of Lords allowed to start.

11 Mar Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader. 

11 May  40 killed as fire destroys Bradford City stand

12th June Wales draw 1-1 with Brazil at Ninian Park

28th Sept Toys'R'Us store opens.

21st Feb Charlotte Church born

30th Aug Marments Store in Queen Street closes. First opened in 1879.

18th Nov Wales National Ice Rink opens

11 Feb British Airways privatised.

16 Oct  Hurricane hits southern England Party uninterrupted.

18 Nov  30 die in King's Cross Underground fire

1987 Construction of 'Euro Tunnel' begins.

3rd April Cardiff Bay Development Corpn. established.

22nd June First pop concert held in Cardiff Arms Park starred David Bowie.

5th Oct New Cityline train service begins between Coryton and Radyr with four new stations

12h Dec Queens West shopping centre opened.

19th Dec animal liberation front incendiary device ignited in Howell's fur department

6 Jul 1988  North sea oil rig Piper Alpha explodes

22 Dec 1988 Pan Am jumbo jet explodes over Lockerbie killing 270

25th Apr New Theatre opens after �3.5m refurbishment.

28th Apr Flatholm lighthouse ceased being manned.

3rd May Grangetown Link of Peripheral Distributor Road opens.

7th May A world record crowd for a rugby union club game of 56,000 saw Llanelli beat Neath in the WRU Cup Final at the Arms Park

10th June Old paddle-steamer booking office opened as 'Q Shed' in Bay.

22nd Aug HTV Culverhouse Cross studios open.

24th Aug Sally Hodge won a gold medal at the World Track Cycling Championships in Ghent.

24th Sept Colin Jackson wins the silver medal for 110m hurdles in the Olympic Games - South Korea.

26th Sept University College Cardiff and University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology merge to form University of Wales College, Cardiff.

1st Oct Celebration of new County Hall

10th Oct The South East Wales Pilotage Authority for Barry Cardiff and Newport was wound up.

28th Nov British Animation Awards ceremony held in Cardiff for the first time.

1st Dec Charges introduced at the National Museum of Wales.

3rd Dec New Cardiff Central Library opens.

15 Apr  94 football fans crushed to death at Hillsborough

15 Jun A courageous young man captured the imagination of the whole world, when he singlehandedly stopped the advance of a tank column by standing in its way...
Tiananmen Square

?? Sep 1989 = Thousands of Scots elect not to pay new Poll Tax

19 Oct "Guildford Four" released from prison

9 Nov Berlin Wall opens

21 Nov TV coverage of House of Commons allowed to start. Who do these people think they are?

5th Mar Wales on Sunday launched.

17th May Japanese Studies Centre, first in Britain, opened in Cardiff University

31st May Wales draw 0 - 0 with West Germany in the first World Cup qualifying match to be held at the Arms Park for 79 years. (Also the first all seated international played anywhere in Britain).

17th June Bryn Terfel won the first prize to be awarded at the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition

24th July Celtic Bay (now Cardiff Bay) Hotel opens.

3rd Aug Leckwith Stadium opened.

18th Sept Roath - the largest mosque in Wales destroyed by fire.

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27 Aug Radio 5 begins

23 Aug 1990 = British and US troop build up in Persian Gulf

3rd Mar Cardiff Devils win Premiership Championship in their first season in the division.

2nd Apr Earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale epicentre Mid Wales felt in Cardiff.

15th July Touch AM begins broadcasting from Cardiff.

16th July Rolling Stones concert held in Cardiff Arms Park

7th Sept Jury's Hotel opens.

24th Oct Capitol shopping centre opens

12th Nov A burst water main at Tongwynlais causes serious flooding and closes the main road for eight weeks.

23rd Nov Roald Dahl dies.

14th Apr USA win worlds first women's rugby World Cup Final in Cardiff

5th June Wales beat World Champions 1-0 at Cardiff Arms Park.

4th Sept Britain's first floodlit rugby union international played at the Arms Park (Wales v France 9-22)

17th Sept Sunday opening of shops began in Cardiff.

16th Oct Ryan Giggs becomes youngest player to be capped for Wales

19th Feb Britain's first Centre for Sports Science and Medicine opened in Sophia Gardens

23rd May First 1000 male voice choir concert in Arms Park.

30th May FIFA met in Cardiff for the first time

4th Aug Welsh Heart Research Unit opened at University Hospital Cardiff

26 Feb World Trade Centre bomb exploded in van in basement killing 6

1 Nov Activation of Maastricht Treaty establishing EU

19th Mar Cathays railway workshop closes.

3rd Aug 15 day postal strike begins

6th May Dalai Lama makes official visit to Cardiff

29th May Male voice World Choir concert held at Arms Park.

10th July First of two days of powerboat racing in Atlantic Wharf

20th Aug Colin Jackson won 110m hurdles in a world record time of 12.91s

11th Sept BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra becomes National Orchestra of Wales.

2nd Oct First World Heavyweight title fight ever staged in Wales won by Lennox Lewis against Frank Bruno at Cardiff Arms Park.

9th Oct A Classic Spectacular concert held at the newly complete Cardiff International Arena.

14th Oct Queen officially opens Cardiff International Arena

15th Oct Queen opens Courtyard Galleries and Queens Gate entrance to the Bute Tunnel. Busy week for Queen.

21st Dec Welsh Language Board established in Cardiff

12 Mar First female priests ordained by the Church of England.

6 May  Channel tunnel opens

13 Jun Nichole Brown Simpson murdered.

3 Nov Red Hat 1.0 released

29th Jan Nicky Piper loses WBO light-heavyweight title in Cardiff

30th July Jose Carreras gives a concert in Cardiff Arms Park

22nd May Cardiff Yemen Week festival

25th May Work begins on the Cardiff Bay barrage.

20th June Pentwyn Link Road to M4 opened

7th July Tom Jones made Fellow of the Welsh College of Music and Drama

3rd Sept Televisions 'Jeux Sans Frontieres' final was staged in Cardiff Castle

26 Feb UK oldest investment bank Barings collapses.

4 Oct OJ Simpson found innocent of murder (later liable)

1st Apr South Wales Miners given freedom of Cardiff

27 Construction of the Nippon Electric Glass factory begins.

2nd May New Techniquest III opens in Cardiff.

8th May 50th anniversary celebrations of VE Day

3rd June Luciano Pavarotti sang at the CIA at the invitation of Princess Diana in aid of Ty Hafran childrens hospice.

29th July Shiley Bassey sang to 100,000 in Cardiff Castle

6th July First Sunday that pubs in Cardiff were allowed to remain open from midday to 10.30pm

11th Aug A free WNO concert is held outside City Hall

19th Aug 50th Celebrations of VJ Day

13th Sept NCM Insurance building open in Cardiff Bay.

30th Sept Nicky Piper of Cardiff wins Commonwealth light-heavyweight and WBO Intercontinental light-heavyweight titles.

20th Oct Harry Ramsden's fish restaurant opens in the Bay.

1st Nov Littlewoods Pools office close with loss of 300 jobs.

8th Nov Cardiff Wales Airport renamed Cardiff International Airport

22nd Dec Zaha Hadid's Cardiff Bay Opera House plans refused funding by the Millennium Commission.

15 June A large bomb explosion devestates Manchester City Centre.

1st Apr Cardiff regains status of a county after being subordinated to South Glamorgan since 1974.

21st July Free Welsh National Opera concert held in Cardiff Bay.

31st Aug Wales beat San Marino 6-0 in a World Cup qualifying game in Cardiff Arms park.

14th Sept Last tribute concert held at the Arms Park - the final event at the old National Stadium. 

2nd Oct Celtic Gateway multimedia business park opened by Secretary of State for Wales William Hague.

28th Oct The remains of Hurricane Lily arrives as a major storm.

6 Sept Princess Diana's funeral at Westminster Abbey draws large crowds 

11 Sept Scotland votes for its own Parliament

4th Mar S A Brain take over Crown Buckley of Pontyclun

16th Mar Demolition of the National Stadium begins

26th Apr Last rugby match played at national stadium.  (Cardiff beat Swansea 33-26 in the WRU Cup Final).

20th July Free Welsh National Opera concert held in Cardiff Bay.

21st July First episode of BBC networked television soap 'Tiger Bay' filmed.

14th Aug 26 lane Bowling Alley opened at Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village.

12th Sept Prime Minister Tony Blair lays foundation Stone of the Millennium Stadium.

18th Sept Cardiff voted "no" to the National Assembly in the 2nd referendum on devolution for Wales

19th Sept Cardiff Bay retail park opened.

22nd Sept George Thomas (Viscount Tonypandy) dies in Cardiff

10th Oct 12 screen UCI Cinema opens in Atlantic Wharf

19th Dec Barry Jone wins WBO super featherweight title.

12 Jan 19 European nations agree to forbid human cloning. 

26 Jan Bill Clinton denies he had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

18 May The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft. 

23rd Mar Princess Anne opens the new Penarth Sailing Club

5th May Wales Empire Pool closed after 40 years.

7th May Red Dragon and Touch AM sold to Capital radio for �18.5 million

27th May Emperor Akihito of Japan makes official visit to Cardiff

31st May Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum in Cardiff Bay closes (after 21 years).

15th May EU summit held in Cardiff

16th June President Nelson Mandela receives the Freedom of Cardiff at Cardiff Castle.

27th July Village Hotel Coryton opened.

6th Sept New bandstand opened in Victoria Park

7th Sept Cardiff's second Welsh-language secondary school opens (Plasmawr).

14th Sept Tesco introduce the first 24 hour shopping at its Western Avenue Store.

21st Sept Holiday Inn Express opens Cardiff Bay.

12th May First meeting of National Assembly held at Crickhowell House.

1999 The Millennium Stadium is completed on the grounds of the National Stadium and plays host to the Rugby World Cup. The Cardiff Bay barrage is completed as part of its waterfront development scheme

16th Jan St David's Hotel opens.  Cardiffs first five start hotel

22nd Mar Cardiff Royal Infirmary casualty unit closes (moves to University Hospital Heath).  It was the busiest casualty unit in Wales.

22nd Apr The Anthony Hopkins Centre at the Welsh College of Music and Drama officially opened by the Prince of Wales.

20th May New Zealand beat Australia at World Cricket Cup at Sophia Gardens 

24th May First of the three locks in the Cardiff Bay barrage began operation.

26th May Queen and Price of Wales open the National Assembly

26th June Millennium Stadium officially opened Wales beat South Africa the world champions - for the first time.

30th July Riverside Stand in Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground officially opened.

1st Aug Hilton opens - Cardiff's second 5 star hotel.  

12th July Work begins on Lloyd George Avenue linking the city centre with Cardiff Bay.

22nd July Prince of Wales Theatre reopens as a pub, reputed to be the largest in Wales.

11th Aug Total eclipse (well 97%) of sun seen.

31st Aug All remaining records at Companies House London were transferred  to Cardiff.

14th Sept A Britannia plane from Cardiff crash landed in Gerona. All236 passengers and crew survived even though the plane broke into three pieces.

21st Sept The roof on the Millennium Stadium was opened and closed for the first time.

27th Sept World in Union Riverside Walk opens.

1st Oct Rugby World Cup starts with Wales beating Argentina 23-18.

4th Nov Cardiff Barrage completed and the new lake created.

6th Nov Rugby World Cup final Millennium Stadium (Australia beat France 35 -12 good!)

28th Nov First sporting event on the new Cardiff Bay - sailing competition organised by the Cardiff Bay Sailing Club.

31st Dec Cardiff pubs allowed to stay open all night for the new millennium.  Concert by the Manic Street Preachers in the Millennium Stadium and celebrations in the civic centre.

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23rd May Worlds first-ever indoor football international held at Millennium Stadium Wales 0 Brazil 3 

24 Mar Apple OS X launched. 

21 Jun Eclipse of sun

29th Mar Wales play first friendly game of football at the Millennium Stadium.

6th May Charlotte Church one of the first winners at the first Classical Brit Awards

20th May Llanelli beat Swansea in the first WRU Cup Final held at the Millennium Stadium

25th May Water Bus service starts in the Bay

27th May World's first indoor rugby union game took place at the Millennium Stadium.

28th May Glamorgan beat Surrey at Sophia Gardens to reach Benson and Hedges Cup final for the first time.

29th May Refurbished Oval Basin Cardiff opens with Roald Dahl's Revolting Concert

31st May Work begins to link St Mary Street to the new Bute Square

2nd June Work begins on the building of the Cardiff Community Hospital on the site of the former St David's Hospital.

5th June Statue of second Marquis of Bute moved from St Mary St to Bute Square.

11th June  Powerboat 'Spirit of Cardiff' set a new record by circumnavigating the British Isles, from Cardiff,  in 5 days 6 hours and 5 minutes.

9th July Tina Turner stars in Millennium Stadium concert

17th July Rebuild Hayes Island Snack Bar reopens.

23rd July A record 13,000 crowd attend a Steps concert at Cardiff Castle.

25th Sept R.S.Thomas dies.

3rd Oct Real Radio begin broadcasting.

2001 Airlines began to implement methods to use the internet while flying.

 1 Jan Euro banknotes and coins introduced..

All new buses are now of the low floor concept which are designed to line up with special raised kerbs at bus stops.

Cardiff Bus celebrate their century.

1 Feb The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon reentry, killing all seven astronauts onboard. 

12 Mar WHO issues a global alert on the SARS virus

20 Mar Troops from United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invade Iraq. 

30 Jul The last old-style Volkswagen Beetle rolls off its production line in Mexico.

14 Aug Widespread power outage affects northeast United States and Canada. 

26 Nov Last ever flight by Concorde.

Cardiff City beat Queens Park Rangers in the final of the division two playoffs at the Millennium Stadium, to gain entry into Division One of the Football League

6th June D-Day 60th anniversary.

The 40th President of the United States U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, dies in his Los Angeles< home at the age of 93 

11Jun Smoke alarm voted as most popular gadget.

20th Dec Cardiff is capital of Wales for 50 years and a city for 100 years

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