One of the things about the Act of 1752 which bothered me for a long time was "Why did we only lose 11 days"
The Julian calendar started in 45BC, so there were 1752+45=1797 years (there is no year 0) The Julian calendar is 11mins 14 seconds out = 1 day every 128 years 1797/128=14.03 days So why did we only lose 11 days? I can reveal the answer, for all those out there who, like me, have spent time worrying about this. The spring equinox was not on 21st March in 45 BC, but it had moved to 21st March by the time of the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. This was when Emperor Constantine - the first Christian Emperor of Rome - established, among other things, the rules for Easter (and there's another story). By the time that the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 - and the driving force was to keep the date of Easter correct - the calendar had shifted by:- 1582-325=1257 1257/128=9.82 years So there was a 10 day adjustment. In 1752, we (UK and America) altered our calendar to "keep us in line with the rest of Europe", a phrase that still seems to have a certain ring of familiarity. So now you can sleeep easy in your beds. Mike [EMAIL PROTECTED] 53.37N 3.02W Chester, UK
