1831 in Wales
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1831 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents
- Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
- Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire – Henry Somerset, 6th Duke of Beaufort
- Lord Lieutenant of Caernarvonshire – Peter Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby
- Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire – William Edward Powell
- Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire – George Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor
- Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire – Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet
- Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire – Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster
- Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan – John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute
- Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire – Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet
- Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire – Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis
- Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire – Sir John Owen, 1st Baronet
- Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire – George Rodney, 3rd Baron Rodney
- Bishop of Bangor – Christopher Bethell
- Bishop of Llandaff – Edward Copleston
- Bishop of St Asaph – William Carey
- Bishop of St Davids – John Jenkinson
Events
- 28 April–1 June – In the UK general election:
- *Robert Fulke Greville is defeated in Pembrokeshire by Sir John Owen of Orielton.
- *Edward Lloyd-Mostyn, 2nd Baron Mostyn becomes MP for Flintshire.
- *John Jones of Ystrad is injured in rioting during the election at Carmarthen, causing polling there to be postponed.
- 3 June – The Merthyr Rising reaches its climax.
- 5 August – Charles Darwin travels from Shrewsbury to Llangollen with his tutor, Rev Adam Sedgwick, to carry out geological studies. They remain in Wales for more than two weeks.
- 18 August – The paddle steamer Rothsay Castle is wrecked at the eastern end of the Menai Strait with the loss of 93 lives.
- August – John Jones of Ystrad holds the constituency of Carmarthen.
- 22 October – John Jones of Ystrad and Robert Fulke Greville fight a duel at Tafarnspite.
- Repeal of the slate tax.
- Port Talbot ironworks opens.
- William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog) becomes a minister.
Arts and literature
New books
- John Evans (I. D. Ffraid) – ''Hanes yr Iddewon''
New publications
- Autumn – Y Drysorfa, a Calvinistic Methodist publication, restarts under the editorship of John Parry.
Births
- 13 January – William Hugh Evans, minister and author
- May – Dewi Havhesp, poet
- 3 May – Sir Walter Vaughan Morgan, Lord Mayor of London
- 16 May – David E. Hughes, musician and professor of music
- 21 July – Edward Lewis, Welsh-born New Zealand clergyman
- 16 October – John Jones, composer
- 8 December
- *William Dykins, poet
- *Edward Payson Evans, historian and linguist
- 14 December – Griffith John, missionary
- 20 December – William T. Davies, Governor of Pennsylvania
- date unknown – William Davies (Gwilym Teilo), writer
Deaths
- 1 January – Charles Heath, printer, writer, and radical Mayor of Monmouth, about 70
- 7 January – Edward "Celtic" Davies, author, 74
- 17 April – Sir Thomas Mostyn, 6th Baronet, politician, 54
- 30 April – Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, 93
- 18 May – John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Lisburne, landowner and politician, 62
- 8 June – Sarah Siddons, actress, 75
- 11 August – Cradock Glascott, Evangelical clergyman and associate of the Wesley brothers, 88
- 13 August – Dic Penderyn, labourer, 23
- probable – Joseph Davies, editor of Y Brud a Sylwydd, age unknown