History of Aberystwyth
1940-1960
1939-1945
World war
1941
May 12: Programmable
Z3 the 1st programmable computer (Its switching elements are electromechanical relays) in Germany
1942
December 2: Fusion
Enrico Fermi's team produce 1st controlled self-sustaining fusion reaction.
1943
December: Colossus
Colossus the 1st all-electronic programmable computer (Its switching elements are electronic vacuum tubes) in England. Programming was done by rewiring a plugboard. It was developed to help crack, war time, secret codes.
1945
January 11: Caradoc Evans
Living locally Welsh novelist and playwright Caradoc Evans died.
July 16: Atom Bomb
July 27: Dodgy Ice-Cream
An outbreak of typhoid feaver in Aberystwyth that killed 4 people and put many dozens in the local hospitals was traced to a single barrel of locally made ice-cream.
October 8: Microwave
Cooking using microwaves patented by Percy Spencer of the American military contractor called the Raytheon Company. It would take over 20 years to refine the device into a domestic product.
1946
February 5: Sinking Submarine
Aberystwyth lifeboat launched to rescue the crew of a stricken submarine
1947
December 22: Transistor
1st transistor built by Bardeen, Shockley, Brattain in USA
1948
June 21: Baby Runs!
'Baby' the 1st computer to store both data and programs in its main memory runs its 1st program
January: National Railway
Railways were nationalised
April: National Electric
Electricity suppliers were nationalised
July 5: NHS
1950
World Population
- -6000
- 0.01
- -4000
- 0.02
- -2000
- 0.03
- -1000
- 0.05
- - 500
- 0.10
- 1
- 0.20
- 1000
- 0.31
- 1750
- 0.79
- 1800
- 0.98
- 1850
- 1.26
- 1900
- 1.65
- 1950
- 2.52
- 1955
- 2.76
- 1960
- 2.98
- 1965
- 3.33
- 1970
- 3.69
- 1975
- 4.07
- 1980
- 4.43
- 1985
- 4.83
- 1990
- 5.26
- 1995
- 5.67
- 2000
- 6.07
- 2005
- 6.45
1951
Census
Population 9315 Inhabited houses 2471
Panty'
Pantycelyn hall opened - extended in 1953 & 1967[17]
1952
IC
Integrated Circuit devised by Geoffrey Dummer in England (cf working device in 1958)
Trackball
Computer trackball invented in Canada (cf the computer mouse of 1963)
Video Games
1st Computer Video Game (noughts and crosses) at Cambridge University in England
Eisteddfod
National Eisteddfod held in Aberystwyth
December 5-9: Big Smoke
A trapped layer of air over London does not permit the pollution to escape. Freezing fog made thicker every day by the trapped chimney fumes causes breathing difficulties for many vulnerable people. The Great Smog causes 4000 excess deaths during these 4 days and another 8000 excess death in the following few months.
1953
DNA
Although isolated over 80 years earlier the structure of the biological polymer in the center of cells was not known. Borrowing heavily on other peoples experimental results J. Watson and F. Crick were able to find the structure of DNA.
Local Principal
Goronwy Rees becomes the only local to have been appointed Aberystwyth university principal.
Grass
Founded in 1919, the Welsh Plant Breading Station moves out of the university to its own site (Plas Gorgerddan) 4km north of Aberystwyth.
(In 2008 it would become part of the university again.)
1954
February 10: Disk Drive
The IBM successfully tests a disk drive
1955
World Population
- -6000
- 0.01
- -4000
- 0.02
- -2000
- 0.03
- -1000
- 0.05
- - 500
- 0.10
- 1
- 0.20
- 1000
- 0.31
- 1750
- 0.79
- 1800
- 0.98
- 1850
- 1.26
- 1900
- 1.65
- 1950
- 2.52
- 1955
- 2.76
- 1960
- 2.98
- 1965
- 3.33
- 1970
- 3.69
- 1975
- 4.07
- 1980
- 4.43
- 1985
- 4.83
- 1990
- 5.26
- 1995
- 5.67
- 2000
- 6.07
- 2005
- 6.45
Welsh Capital
Cardiff was declared the capital city of Wales
Chess
British Chess Championships held in Aberystwyth.
August 8: Queen
The Queen arrives in Aberystwyth to open the - finally - completed National Library of Wales and the Milford Laboratories of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station.[7] (The National Library of Wales has been added to several times over the years as shelf space runs out).
1956
Local Television
TWW (Television Wales & the West) got the franchise to produce local programs for the region
Clock
Town Clock condemned as unsafe and pulled down. Many town's people remember that it proved much more difficult to demolish than expected. (The clock mechanism is now in the Museum)
1957
October 4: Satellite
From Kazakhstan the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1 the 1st man made satellite.
October 8-12: Radiation
Whilst transmuting materials for a H-bomb a Nuclear reactor catches fire at Windscale in England. Officially played down at the time, this would remain world's worst nuclear accident for 22 years.
Principal
The university principal, locally born Goronwy Rees, is forced to resign.
July 26: Royal Welsh Flood
Royal Welsh Show held at Blaendolau is flooded 1m deep
September 8: Fire
Fire damages town hall - the rebuilt town hall is the one we have today
1957-62
Hydroelectric
Building of Rheidol hydroelectric power station.
1958
September 12: IC
Demonstration of the 1st integrated circuit (cf devised in 1952)
1959
September 14: Reach for the Moon
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 becomes the 1st man made object to reach the moon
October 7: Dark Side of the Moon
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 got the 1st images of the dark side of the moon
Flag
A red dragon on a green and white background is made the official flag of Wales
Biology
Biology building opened on Penglais campus[17]