Definition:
In 1582, by papal decree, Pope Gregory XIII
replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar (named after himself).
This calendar was developed to make up for the deficiencies in the Julian
calendar which caused it to depart from the natural solar cycle over time. To
get back in sync with the solar cycle, the Gregorian calendar dropped 10 days
from the month of October in 1582, and introduced Leap Years to keep this
problem from recurring. Of primary importance to genealogists, is that the
Gregorian calendar was not adopted by many protestant countries until much later.
Great Britain and her colonies adopted the Gregorian, or "new style"
calendar in 1752. Some countries, such as China, did not adopt the calendar
until the 1900's.
Dates & Calendars
Online calendars, birthdate calculators, genealogy calendar programs, date
converters, today in history, fun facts and info on date formats for genealogy
research.
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