1856 in Wales

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Albert Edward
• Princess of Wales – vacant

  Events

• 6 February – The sailing ship Grand Duke is wrecked off St Govan's Head, with the loss of 29 lives.
• 10 March – John Jones is sentenced to three months hard labour for drunkenness.
• May – John Frost is given an unconditional pardon for his role in the Newport Chartist demonstrations of 1839.
• 3 July – 11 men are killed in a mining accident at Coalbrookdale, Nantyglo.
• 15 July – 114 men and boys are killed in a mining accident at Cymmer Old Pit, Porth, Rhondda.
• 16 September – The Festiniog Railway publishes its first printed timetable.
• 8 September – At the Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War, Corporal Robert Shields of the 23rd Regiment of Foot recovers a fatally wounded officer from an exposed position, an action for which he will receive the Victoria Cross.
• Troops are sent into Talargoch in Flintshire to deal with an industrial dispute involving lead miners.
• Fishguard becomes the first county court in Wales to close.
• Halkyn-born Mormon missionary Dan Jones returns to the United States on conclusion of his second mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with between 550 and 700 Welsh saints bound for Salt Lake City.
• Richard Cory sells his provision business and begins to trade as "Richard Cory and Sons" in the coal and shipping business.
• Pryce Pryce-Jones takes over a drapery business in Newtown and begins to trade as the "Royal Welsh Warehouse", a mail order business.
• Jane Williams returns to her native London, where she remains until her death nearly thirty years later.

  Arts and literature

• Summer – Marian Evans drafts "The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton", the first of her Scenes of Clerical Life and her first work of fiction, while holidaying at Tenby.

  New books

English language

• Erasmus Jones – The Higher Law Triumphant: The Captive Youths of Judah
• Samuel Prideaux Tregelles – An Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament
• Jane Williams – The Origin, Rise, and Progress of the Paper People

  Welsh language

• John Ceiriog Hughes – Gohebiaethau Syr Meurig Crynswth
• John Jones – Tiriad y Ffrancodym Mhencaer
• John Williams – Dosparth Edeyrn Davod Aur

  Music

• January – The Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, is composed by James James with lyrics by his father Evan James.

  Births

• 2 January – John Viriamu Jones, academic
• 26 March – David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda, politician
• 1 April – Walter Jenkin Evans, academic
• 15 April – James Bevan, first Wales rugby union captain
• 15 June – Richard Garnons Williams, soldier and Wales international rugby union player
• 11 October – Sir Harry Reichel, academic
• 20 December – Egerton Phillimore, scholar

  Deaths

• 3 January – Thomas Richard, minister, 72
• 18 February – James Morgan, engineer, 80?
• 28 March – Henry Watkins Williams-Wynn, politician, 73
• May – Thomas Robert Jones, founder of the "True Ivorites", 54
• 28 May – John Bryan, minister, 79/80
• 29 June – Peter Jones, Welsh-descended missionary, 54
• 14 August – Rev William Buckland, palaeontologist and discoverer of the "Red Lady of Paviland", 72