Editing 1731 in science

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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 (agriculturist)|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 (instrument)|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==
* The modern [[seismograph]] is developed by [[Italian people|Italian]] scientist [[Nicholas Cerillo]] using a [[pendulum]].

==Mathematics==
* The [[Euclidean distance]] formula is first published by [[Alexis Clairaut]].<ref>{{citation|last=Maor|first=Eli|author-link=Eli Maor|isbn=978-0-691-19688-6|pages=133–134|publisher=Princeton University Press|title=The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuWZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA133|year=2019}}</ref>

==Medicine==
* September – The first successful [[appendectomy]] is performed by English surgeon William Cookesley.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A considerable share of the intestines cut off after a mortification in a hernia and cured|journal=Medical Essays and Observations|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge|volume=5|issue=1|year=1742|pages=427–31}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter|last=Selley|title=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=Journal of Medical Biography|volume=24|year=2016|pages=180-3}}</ref>
* [[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.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 18th Century Women Scientists of Bologna|url=http://scienceweek.com/2004/rmps-4.htm|work=ScienceWeek|year=2004|accessdate=2011-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302045409/http://scienceweek.com/2004/rmps-4.htm|archive-date=2012-03-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The  [[Royal Society of Edinburgh|Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge]] in [[Edinburgh]] begins publication of the [[peer review]]ed ''Medical Essays and Observations''.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Benos, Dale J.|title=The ups and downs of per review|url=http://advan.physiology.org/content/31/2/145.full.pdf+html|journal=Advances in Physiology Education|volume=31|pages=145–152|year=2007|doi=10.1152/advan.00104.2006|pmid=17562902|issue=2|accessdate=2011-08-30|display-authors=etal|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Technology==
* The [[harpoon gun]] is developed and used for the purpose of throwing the [[harpoon]] into the body of [[whale]]s.

==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 (scientist)|Stephen Gray]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Copley Medal {{!}} British scientific award |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |accessdate=21 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Births==
* October 10 – [[Henry Cavendish]], [[English people|English]] scientist (died [[1810 in science|1810]])
* November 9 – [[Benjamin Banneker]], [[African-American]] [[astronomer]] and surveyor (died [[1806 in science|1806]])
* December 12 – [[Erasmus Darwin]], English [[physician]] and [[botanist]] (died [[1802 in science|1802]])

==Deaths==
* January 6 – [[Étienne François Geoffroy]], [[French people|French]] [[chemist]] (born [[1672 in science|1672]])
* December 29 – [[Brook Taylor]], English [[mathematician]] (born [[1685 in science|1685]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1731 in science| ]]
[[Category:18th century in science]]
[[Category:1730s in science]]