Where did the time go?

ISSUE 63– STEVE KOVACS FUN WITH MAPS

DAILY FEATURE: By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (September 2, 2020) – In Issue 63 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps we learn tomorrow is September 14th . . . WHAT!

Eleven Missing Days

Have you ever wondered where an hour, or a day, or a week gone?  Have you ever had the experience of not being able to remember what happened during a substantial amount of time?

Well, if you lived in Colonial America, or in Britain in 1752, you would have experienced that, and wouldn’t have wondered about your sanity, rather about the sanity of your leaders for taking time away from you. 

You see, the day after September 2, 1752 was September 14, 1752, skipping eleven days all togethe

It was due to the switch to the Gregorian calendar which we use today.  Named after Pope Gregory XIII, it replaced the Julian calendar named after Julius Caesar.  The Julian calendar had the leap years occur on any year evenly divisible by four compared to our calendar today where a leap year comes once every four years. The Julian formula produced too many leap years, causing the Julian calendar to drift apart from the tropical year at a rate of 1 day per 128 years. That difference and a few other minor points between the two systems is just 11 minutes per average year, but it does add up over centuries. 

Given that the modern Popes reside in the same city as Caesar did, Rome, here is a stunning view of the Eternal City from 1730 by Werner.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Click here to visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.