March 18th in History

March 18th

978Edward the Martyr, King of England and the eldest son of King Edgar, was murdered at Corfe Castle. . The murder is thought to have been ordered by his stepmother Aelfryth, mother of Ethelred the Unready who was eager to see her son crowned.





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Llywelyn Bren surrendered at Ystradfellte on March 18th 1316 after leading a revolt opposing the Anglo-Norman persecution of the people of Glamorgan.
In 1267 Llywelyn's father, Gruffudd ap Rhys, Lord of Senghenydd was dispossessed of his lordship by the powerful Anglo-Norman lord Gilbert de Clare, who began the construction of Caerphilly Castle in the following year.
The death of Gilbert de Clare's son and heir at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 left a power vacuum in the region and in 1315 Edward II appointed an administrator, who proceeded to persecute the people of Glamorgan. In response Llywelyn appealed to Edward. When his appeal was rebuffed and he himself was charged with treason, Llywelyn laid siege to Caerphilly Castle on 28th January 1316 and burnt the town. The revolt then quickly spread across South Wales, forcing Edward to launch a two-pronged attack on Llywelyn from Cardiff and Hereford.

Llywelyn at first retreated, but realising that his position was now hopeless, he surrendered at Ystradfellte on March 18th and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. His lands were seized by the crown, and Hugh Despenser, reputedly King Edward's lover, was given the Lordship of Glamorgan. In 1318, in order to seize his estates, Despenser had Llywelyn executed without trial at Cardiff Castle and had the parts of his body exhibited in various part of the county before burial in the Grey Friars at Cardiff.



1834Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset were sentenced to be transported to Australia for seven years for forming the first trade union and introducing collective bargaining for better wages.
There was such an outcry that they were pardoned two years after sentencing and allowed to return to England. The annual Tolpuddle Martyrs' festival is held in the village of Tolpuddle in the third weekend of July.
Each year a wreath is laid at the grave of James Hammett, one of the martyrs.
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1891The London to Paris telephone link came into operation.



....1965: Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov becomes the first person to walk in space when he leaves his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes.



....Music1967: It's announced that that former Spence Davis Group member Steve Winwood is planning a new group with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason – the new band is to be named Traffic.


1976 – A science fantasy drama film starring David Bowie called 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', premiered in the theaters in London.