1731 in science
The year 1731 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Agriculture and horticulture
- Philip Miller publishes The Gardeners Dictionary, containing the Methods of Cultivating and Improving the Kitchen Fruit and Flower Garden in London.
- Jethro Tull publishes The New Horse-Houghing Husbandry; or, an essay on the principles of tillage and vegetation in London.
Astronomy
- John Bevis observes the Crab Nebula for the first time in the modern era.
- The octant is developed by John Hadley.
- The orrery is developed as an apparatus showing the relative positions of heavenly bodies in the Solar System by using balls moved by wheelwork.
Geology
- The modern seismograph is developed by Italian scientist Nicholas Cerillo using a pendulum.
Mathematics
- The Euclidean distance formula is first published by Alexis Clairaut.
Medicine
- September – The first successful appendectomy is performed by English surgeon William Cookesley.
- Laura Bassi becomes the first official female university teacher on being appointed professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna at the age of 21.
- The Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge in Edinburgh begins publication of the peer reviewed Medical Essays and Observations.
Technology
- The harpoon gun is developed and used for the purpose of throwing the harpoon into the body of whales.
Publications
- Publication begins in Augsburg and Ulm of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer's Physica Sacra which attempts to provide a scientific explanation of Biblical history.
Awards
- Copley Medal: The first Copley Medal is awarded to Stephen Gray.
Births
- October 10 – Henry Cavendish, English scientist
- November 9 – Benjamin Banneker, African-American astronomer and surveyor
- December 12 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist