During September of 1752, we ‘lost’ 11 days of history as they disappeared into nothingness. Six and a half million Britons went to bed on September 2nd and woke up to September 14th, 1752. Why did this happen? Is it important? Well, as interested as you may be, many questions about these ‘lost’ 11 days still intrigue me.
Gregorian and Julian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar, by Pope Gregory XIII, dates back to 1582; it’s been in effect in the UK since 1752. The Gregorian calendar is what everyone around the world currently follows, where one year has 365 days, 5 hours and 49 minutes. It’s divided into 12 months which consist of 30 or 31 days except for February which has 28 days. This, in turn, means that every 4 years there is an extra day during February(which is why we have a leap year).
Contrastingly, the Julian calendar, which has been in use since the 46 BC, has 365 days and 6 hours per year. But problems started coming into shape as the 11 minutes difference between the 2, added up each year hence the Julian calendar wasn’t as accurate as it could be.
Why did the change occur?
The first country to take on board the more accurate Gregorian calendar was France immediately after its introduction. Later on, it was introduced to the UK followed by many other countries. Turkey was the last country to officially switch to the new system on January 1st, 1927. During the introduction period, the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar led to the loss of 11 days of history. The switch took place primarily due to the inbuilt flaw that the Julian calendar had. This flaw was that a day was lost for every 128 years. This caused significant problems, including Easter taking place on April 12th instead of March 21st which contextually caused outrage.
Is it important?
Date and time in the 21st century have become in many ways extremely important to our lives. Therefore, to be as accurate as possible, the new better Gregorian calendar gives us this opportunity.
If we hadn’t switched to the Gregorian calendar, it would have meant that we lose 13 days. This is because every 128 years since the start of the Gregorian calendar is equal to the loss of one day. Since the switch, its been 268 years so 268/128 = 2.09…(Approx 2). Hence it would have added 2 extra days to the 11 already “lost” days.
Was it controversial?
Yes, is the answer. Many people believed that their lives have been shortened by 11 days. Moreover, it caused many auspicious dates to be altered which caused contextual issues.
Many bizarre events have occurred in our past, one of which includes ‘losing’ 11 days in the September of 1752. This may not be very relevant for the present however changing from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar has improved the accuracy of our time and date.
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