December 1831 in History

Events in History

  • Dec 1 Erie Canal closes for entire month due to cold weather
  • Dec 5 Former US President John Q Adams takes his seat as a member of House of Representatives
  • Dec 25 Louisiana & Arkansas are first states to observe Christmas as holiday

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Dec 27 HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin on board departs England for a survey of South America, a voyage Darwin later said "determined my whole career"

Naturalist Charles Darwin
Naturalist
Charles Darwin
  • Dec 31 Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City

Birthdays in History

  • Dec 6 Joshua Woodrow Sill, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Chillicothe, Ohio (d. 1862)
  • Dec 10 Alexander Conze, German archaeologist
  • Dec 19 Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Hawaiian philanthropist (d. 1884)
  • Dec 22 Mark Rutherford [Hale White], English writer, born in Bedford, England (d. 1913)
  • Dec 22 Robert Ogden Tyler, Bvt Major General (Union Army), (d. 1874)
  • Dec 27 Lucius Fairchild, American politician, diplomat, and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Kent, Ohio (d. 1896)
  • Dec 29 Adam Badeau, US author, Union Army officer, and diplomat, born in NYC, New York (d. 1895)

Deaths in History

  • Dec 8 James Hoban, architect who designed White House, dies
  • Dec 10 Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist (Seebeck effect), dies at 61
  • Dec 10 Thomas Seebeck, Baltic German physicist (b. 1770)
  • Dec 15 Paul R Cantzlaar, gov of Saba/Curacao/Dutch-West Indies, dies at 60
  • Dec 18 Willem Bilderdijk, Dutch poet/literary (My Relief), dies at 75