1731 in science

Overview of the events of 1731 in science

List of years in science

(table)

* … 1721
* 1722
* 1723
* 1724
* 1725
* 1726
* 1727

* 1728
* 1729
* 1730
* 1731
* 1732
* 1733
* 1734

* 1735
* 1736
* 1737
* 1738
* 1739
* 1740
* 1741 …

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*   * Literature
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1731 in science

1730

1732

Fields

* Archaeology

Technology

* Sustainable energy research
* Transportation technology

Social sciences

* Psychology
* Governance and policy studies

Paleontology

* Dinosaurs' extinction

Extraterrestrial environment
Terrestrial environment

* Tornado research

Other/related

* Literature
* Timeline of cosmological theories
* List of open letters by academics
* History of technology by type
* List of science timelines

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The year 1731 in science and technology involved some significant events.

## Agriculture and horticulture

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* 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

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* John Bevis observes the Crab Nebula for the first time in the modern era.
* The octant is developed by John Hadley (it will eventually be replaced as an essential tool of navigation by the sextant).
* The orrery (or planetarium model) is developed as an apparatus showing the relative positions of heavenly bodies in the Solar System by using balls moved by wheelwork.

## Geology

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* The modern seismograph is developed by Italian scientist Nicholas Cerillo using a pendulum.

## Mathematics

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* The Euclidean distance formula is first published by Alexis Clairaut.[1]

## Medicine

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* September – The first successful appendectomy is performed by English surgeon William Cookesley.[2][3]
* 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.[4]
* The Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge in Edinburgh begins publication of the peer reviewed Medical Essays and Observations.[5]

## Technology

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* The harpoon gun is developed and used for the purpose of throwing the harpoon into the body of whales.

## Publications

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* Publication begins in Augsburg and Ulm of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer's Physica Sacra which attempts to provide a scientific explanation of Biblical history.

## Awards

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* Copley Medal: The first Copley Medal is awarded to Stephen Gray.[6]

## Births

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* October 10 – Henry Cavendish, English scientist (died 1810)
* November 9 – Benjamin Banneker, African-American astronomer and surveyor (died 1806)
* December 12 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (died 1802)

## Deaths

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* January 6 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (born 1672)
* December 29 – Brook Taylor, English mathematician (born 1685)

## References

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1. ^ Maor, Eli (2019), The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History, Princeton University Press, pp. 133–134, ISBN 978-0-691-19688-6
2. ^ "A considerable share of the intestines cut off after a mortification in a hernia and cured". Medical Essays and Observations. 5 (1). Edinburgh: Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge: 427–31\. 1742.
3. ^ Selley, Peter (2016). "William Cookesley, William Hunter and the first patient to survive removal of the appendix in 1731 – a case history with 31 years' follow up". Journal of Medical Biography. 24: 180–3.
4. ^ "The 18th Century Women Scientists of Bologna". ScienceWeek. 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
5. ^ Benos, Dale J.; et al. (2007). "The ups and downs of per review". Advances in Physiology Education. 31 (2): 145–152\. doi:10.1152/advan.00104.2006. PMID 17562902. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
6. ^ "Copley Medal | British scientific award". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

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