1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was acommon year starting on Saturday of theGregorian calendar and acommon year starting on Thursday of theJulian calendar, the 1831st year of theCommon Era (CE) andAnno Domini (AD) designations, the 831st year of the2nd millennium, the 31st year of the19th century, and the 2nd year of the1830s decade. As of the start of 1831, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

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• January 1 –William Lloyd Garrison beginspublishingThe Liberator, an anti-slaverynewspaper, inBoston,Massachusetts.
• January 10 –Japanesedepartment store,Takashimaya inKyoto established.^[1]
• February–March – Revolts inModena,Parma and thePapal States are put down byAustriantroops.
• February 2 –Pope Gregory XVI succeedsPope Pius VIII, as the 254th pope.
• February 5 – Dutch naval lieutenantJan van Speyk blows up his own gunboat inAntwerp rather than strike his colours on the demand of supporters of theBelgian Revolution.
• February 7 – The BelgianConstitution of 1831 is approved by theNational Congress.
• February 8 – French-born botanical explorerAimé Bonpland leavesParaguay forArgentina.
• February 14 –Battle of Debre Abbay:RasMarye of Yejju marches intoTigray, and defeats and kills the warlordSabagadis.
• February 25 –Battle of Olszynka Grochowska (Grochów): Polish rebel forces divide a Russian army.
• March 10 – TheFrench Foreign Legion is founded.
• March 16 –Victor Hugo's historical romantic Gothic novelNotre-Dame de Paris, known in English asThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame, is published in Paris.
• March 29 – TheBosnian uprising (1831–32) against theOttoman Empire begins.

• April 7 –Pedro I abdicates asEmperor of Brazil in favor of his 5-year-old sonPedro II, who will reign for almost 59 years.
• April 18
  • TheUniversity of Alabama is founded.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper is first published, as theSydney Herald.
• April 27
  • Charles Albert becomes king of Sardinia after the death of KingCharles Felix.
  • Ending of theFirst Anglo-Ashanti War (1823–1831).
• May 26 –Battle of Ostrołęka: ThePoles fight another indecisive battle.
• May 31 – Auxiliarypaddle steamerSophia Jane arrives atSydney from London, becoming the firststeamboat to operate in the coastal waters ofNew South Wales.
• May–June –Merthyr Rising: Coal miners and others riot inMerthyr Tydfil,Wales, for improved working conditions.
• June 1 – British Royal Navy officerJames Clark Ross locates the position of theNorth Magnetic Pole, at this time on theBoothia Peninsula.
• June 21 – TheNorth Carolina State House andCanova'sGeorge Washington are destroyed by fire inRaleigh, North Carolina.^[2]

• July 13 –Russian imperial officials inWallachia adoptRegulamentul Organic, introducing a period of unprecedented reforms that provide for Westernization of this region of Romania.
• July 15 – The volcanicGraham Island briefly emerges in theMediterranean.
• July 21 –Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha is inaugurated as the first King of theBelgians, inBrussels.
• August 2 – TheDutchTen Days' Campaign against Belgium is halted by aFrench army.
• August 7 – AmericanBaptist ministerWilliam Miller preaches his first sermon on the Second Advent of Christ in Dresden, New York, launching the Advent Movement in the United States.
• August 21 –Nat Turner's slave rebellion in theUnited States breaks out inSouthampton County, Virginia.
• August 29 –Michael Faraday demonstrateselectromagnetic induction at theRoyal Society of London.^[3]Joseph Henry recognises it at about the same time.
• September 8–Battle of Warsaw: The Army ofRussia takes thePolish capital after a two-day battle to crush the Polish uprising.
• September 8 – Coronation of KingWilliam IV of the United Kingdom (he will reign until1837).
• September 22 – TheHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom passes theGreat Reform Bill to expand the franchise, but this is later defeated in theHouse of Lords.
• September 28– The first nationalpresidential nominating convention in theUnited States concludes after three days as theAnti-Masonic Party selects its nominee for President inBaltimore, Maryland.

• October 9 –Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek head ofstate and founder ofGreekindependence, is assassinated inNafplion.
• October 21 – TheNovember Uprising ends in the defeat of Polish forces.
• October 28 –Michael Faraday constructs an early form ofdynamo.^[4]
• October 29 – The1831 Bristol riots ("Queen Square riots") inBristol (England) begin, in connection with theGreat Reform Bill controversy. Quelled by the authorities and the military on October 31, 100 city centre properties are destroyed, at least 120 are estimated to have been killed, 31 of the rioters will be sentenced to death and a colonel facing court-martial for failure to control the riot commits suicide.
• October 30 – In Southampton County, Virginia, escaped slaveNat Turner is captured and arrested for leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history.
• November 7 – Slave trading is forbidden inBrazil.
• November 8 –The Kings School (Parramatta) was approved to be established.
• November 17 –Ecuador andVenezuela are separated fromGran Colombia.
• November 22 –First Canut Revolt: After a bloody battle with the military causing 600 deaths, rebellious silk workers seizeLyon, France.
• December 26 – Globalfinancial services businessAssicurazioni Generali is founded inTrieste (at this time in theAustrian Empire) asImperial Regia Privilegiata Compagnia di Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche.^[5]
• December 27
  • TheBaptist War (Christmas Rebellion) begins inJamaica, with the setting afire of the Kensington House inSt James Parish, inspiring thousands of black slaves to revolt against their British masters. At its peak, more than 20,000 people will be involved, and more than 500 killed.^[6]
  • Charles Darwin embarks fromPlymouth on thesecond voyage of HMSBeagle which will be the foundation for his life of scientific study.
• December 31 –Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.

• Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833):Muhammad Ali of Egypt's French-trained forces occupyOttoman Syria.
• ScholarRifa'a at-Tahtawi returns from study in Paris toEgypt, where he will participate in theNahda.
• Founding of educational establishments:
  • Denison University inGranville, Ohio
  • New York University in New York City
  • Wesleyan University inMiddletown, Connecticut
  • Xavier University inCincinnati (as "The Athenaeum")
  • Wallinska skolan, the first secondary school for girls in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

• January 3 –Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, Indian social reformer, poet (d.1897)
• January 7 –Heinrich von Stephan, German postal union organizer (d.1897)
• January 11 –Pope Cyril V of Alexandria (d.1927)
• January 26 –Heinrich Anton de Bary, German botanist, mycologist (d.1888)
• February 12 –Myra Bradwell, American lawyer, political activist (d.1894)
• February 24 –Leo von Caprivi,Chancellor of Germany (d.1899)
• March 3
  • Gioacchino La Lomia, ItalianRoman Catholic priest and venerable (d.1905)
  • George Pullman, American inventor and industrialist (d.1897)
• March 6 –Philip Sheridan, American general (d.1888)
• March 12 –Clement Studebaker, American automobile pioneer (d.1901)
• March 15 –Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general (d. 1924)
• March 16 –Elise Hwasser, Swedish actress (d.1894)
• April 3 –Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg,Queen consort of Portugal (d.1909)^[7]
• April 6 –Nire Kagenori, Japanese admiral (d.1900)
• April 19 –Mary Louise Booth, American writer, editor and translator (d.1889)
• May 7 –Richard Norman Shaw, British architect (d.1912)
• June 1 –John Bell Hood, American Confederate general (d.1879)
• June 2 –Jan Gerard Palm, Curaçao-born composer (d.1906)
• June 7 –Amelia Edwards, English journalist and author (d.1892)^[8]
• June 13 –James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish physicist (d.1879)
• June 28 –Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (d.1907)

• July 8 –John Pemberton, American inventor ofCoca-Cola (d.1888)
• July 9 –Wilhelm His Sr., Swiss anatomist (d.1904)
• July 17 –Xianfeng Emperor of China (d.1861)
• July 22 –Emperor Kōmei of Japan (d.1867)
• August 12 –Helena Blavatsky, Russian-born author, theosophist (d.1891)
• August 16 –Ebenezer Cobb Morley, English sportsman and thefather of modernfootball (d.1924)
• August 20 –Eduard Suess, Austrian geologist (d.1914)
• August 28 –Lucy Webb Hayes,First Lady of the United States (d.1889)
• September 3 –States Rights Gist,ConfederateBrigadier General in theAmerican Civil War (d.1864)
• September 8 –Wilhelm Raabe, German novelist (d.1910)
• September 18 –Siegfried Marcus, German-born automobile pioneer (d.1898)
• September 20 –Kate Harrington, American teacher, writer and poet (d.1917)
• September 29 –John Schofield, American general (d.1906)
• October 6 –Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (d.1916)
• October 14 –Samuel W. Johnson, English railway mechanical engineer (d.1912)
• October 16 –Lucy Stanton, American abolitionist (d.1910)
• October 18 –Frederick III, German Emperor (d.1888)
• October 29 –Othniel Charles Marsh, American paleontologist (d.1899)
• October 31
  • Paolo Mantegazza, Italian neurologist, physiologist, anthropologist and fiction writer (d.1910)
  • Romualdo Pacheco, Governor of California (d.1899)
• November 1 –Harry Atkinson, 10thPremier of New Zealand (d.1892)
• November 5 –Anna Leonowens, Anglo-Indian educator (Anna ofThe King and I) (d.1915)
• November 7 –Mélanie Calvat, FrenchRoman Catholic nun, Marian Visionary, canonized (d.1904)
• November 19 –James A. Garfield, 20thPresident of the United States (d.1881)
• December 1 –Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil, daughter of EmperorPedro I of Brazil (d.1853)
• December 14 –Arsenio Martínez Campos, Spanish general, revolutionary and prime minister (d.1900)
• December 19 –Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Hawaiianaliʻi (d.1884)

• Richard Hawksworth Barnes, English coffee grower, naturalist and meteorologist (d.1904)
• Jacob W. Davis, (b. Jacob Youphes), Latvian-born American tailor, inventor of jeans (d.1908)
• Sotirios Sotiropoulos, Greek economist, politician (d.1898)
• Eugenia Kisimova, Bulgarian feminist, philanthropist, women's rights activist (d.1885)

• January 8 –Franz Krommer, Czech composer (b.1759)
• January 21 –Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (b.1781)
• February 2 –Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (b.1768)
• February 14
  • Vicente Guerrero, 2ndPresident of Mexico, Independence War hero (b.1782)
  • Marye of Yejju, Ethiopian Ras
  • Sabagadis,Ethiopian warlord (b. c.1770)
• February 17 –Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (b.1785)
• March 9 –Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (b.1752)
• April 5 –Dmitry Senyavin, Russian admiral (b.1763)
• April 20 –John Abernethy, English surgeon (b.1764)
• April 21 –Thursday October Christian I, Pitcairn Islander and son ofFletcher Christian (b.1790)
• April 27 –Charles Felix of Sardinia, King of Sardinia (b.1765)
• April 30 –Collet Barker, British military officer, explorer (b.1784)
• May 17 –Nathaniel Rochester, American politician (b.1752)
• June 5 –Tarenorerer, indigenous Australian Tasman freedom fighter (b.1800)

• June 6 –Robert Fullerton, governor of Penang, first governor of British Straits Settlements (b.1773)
• June 8 –Sarah Siddons, English actress (b.1755)
• June 27 –Sophie Germain, French mathematician (b.1776)
• June 30 –William Roscoe, English abolitionist and writer (b.1753)

• July 4 –James Monroe, 73, 5th President of the United States (b.1758)
• July 16 –Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, Russian general (b.1763)
• July 20 –Jacques Defermon des Chapelières, French politician (b.1752)
• August 5 –Sébastien Érard, German-born French instrument maker (b.1752)
• August 24 –August von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (b.1760)
• September 28 –Philippine Engelhard, German writer, scholar (b.1756)
• November 6 –Hilchen Sommerschild, Norwegian educator (b.1756)
• November 11 –Nat Turner, American slave rebel (b.1800)
• November 14 –Georg Hegel, German philosopher (b.1770)
• November 16 –Carl von Clausewitz, German military strategist (b.1780)
• November 19 –Titumir, Bengali revolutionary (b.1782)^[9]
• November 21 –Marie Anne Simonis, Belgian textile industrialist (b.1758)
• December 15 –Hannah Adams, American author (b.1755)
• December 18 –Willem Bilderdijk, Dutch author (b.1756)
• December 23 –Emilia Plater, Polish heroine (b.1806)
• December 26
  • Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, Indian poet (b.1809)
  • Stephen Girard, French-American banker (b.1750)

• Marengo, Napoleon's mount in several battles (b.1793)
• Charlotta Richardy, Swedish industrialist (b.1751)