Sundial

 

Around the year 40 BCE, Julius Caesar consulted with the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes to come up with a more accurate calendar than the one Rome had been using. The result, the Julian calendar, was in use (with certain adjustments) until 1752. (The Julian calendar had leap years, but no February 29. Instead, it had February 23rd twice! That had to be pretty confusing.) In 1752, Great Britain officially adopted the Gregorian calendar. At the time, the discrepancy between the two calendars was eleven days. George Washington was born February 11, 1732. When he was twenty, as a British subject, his birthday was changed to February 22. There is evidence to suggest he celebrated both birthdays. (I can’t honestly blame him. If you had two birthdays every year, wouldn’t you have cake and ice cream twice?) Today, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is thirteen days. In the year 2100, it will be two weeks.