[Granville-Hough] 4 Oct 2009 - Calendars

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:40:44 -0700
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Calendars - 4 Oct 2009

Genealogists: Beware!!!

CALENDARS, AND DATES FROM JULIAN AND GREGORIAN VERSIONS.

    When Julius Ceasar set up the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, he caused 
spring to begin in March.  This calendar was too long, and Pope Gregory 
in 1582 made a correction which was known as the Gregorian Calendar.  
England did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until Wednesday, 2 Sep 
1752, which was the last day recorded for the Julian Calendar in 
England, but not so in other countries.  The next day in England was 
Thursday, 14 Sep 1752.  

    Under the Julian Calendar, the new year started with 25 March, with 
September as the 7th month, October the 8th, November the 9th, and 
December the 10th month.  January was the 11th month, and February the 
12th.  Under the Gregorian Calendar, the year started with 1 January.  
The days between 1 Jan and 25 Mar were the transition days from the old 
year to the new.

    There is endless confusion about the way the dates and years were 
written.  For a period of time, the days between 1 Jan and 25 Mar were 
written with both years noted, such as 1 Mar 1660/1661.  This meant that 
the date was in the transition period between the two years.  The 
Quakers sometimes used the month and date, and the older records do not 
always indicate whether the 12th month was February or December.  

    The most confusion occurs when one tries to convert Old Style dating 
(under the Julian Calendar) to new dating of the Gregorian Calendar 
after 14 Sep 1752.  It is best for a historian to leave the dates in the 
form in which they are originally written.  This avoids much arguing 
about whether the difference in dates means a different person, or is 
merely someone trying to change the dates to the current calendar.

    Related to this discussion is the adjustment of leap years to keep 
the calendar as close as possible to the natural year, the time it takes 
the earth to revolve around the sun, 365.2422 days.  Google.com now 
gives to any schoolchild a ready source of information; and the old 
trick question: Year 2000 was a leap year: Will year 2100 be a leap 
year? The answer is No, No, the year 2100 is not evenly divisible by 
400.  There were many old stories about the calendar makers of 1900 who 
built up a stock of 1900 leap year calendars which never sold.   It will 
probably happen in 2100 as well.

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Ghandhi's Wisdom.  
 There is nothing more potent than thought.
 Deed follows word and word follows thought.
 The word is the result of a mighty thought,
 and where the thought is mighty and pure
 the result is always mighty and pure.