calendar
calendar,the system according to which the beginning and length of the year are fixed.
The Julian Calendar is that introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC , in which the ordinary year has 365 days, and every fourth year is a leap year of 366 days, the months having the names, order, and length still retained. This was known as ‘Old Style’ when the Gregorian Calendar was introduced.
The Gregorian Calendar is the modification of the preceding, adapted to bring it into closer conformity with astronomical data and the natural course of the seasons, and to rectify the error already contracted by its use. This modification was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 , and adopted in Great Britain in 1752 (see Chesterfield ). It was known as ‘New Style’. The error, due to the fact that the Julian year of 365¼ days (allowing for leap years) was 11 minutes 10 seconds too long, amounted in 1752 to 11 days, and in order to correct...
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