Why England Was A Year Behind Belgium, Spain and Italy for 170 Years | Atlas Obscura

William Hogarth’s satirical painting, “An Election Entertainment” (1755), includes the words “Give us back our eleven days!” (Photo: Public Domain/WikiCommons)

In 1584 a violent, angry crowd ransacked the city of Augsburg, Germany. Citizens broke through thick windows and shot their guns into the street. They were marching to City Hall to make it clear that they would not take the authorities’ new plans sitting down. They were in the midst of the Kalenderstriet, or “calendar conflict.” It was a response to the proposed change from the Julian calendar, which had been used for over a thousand years, to the Gregorian calendar, which would fully skip 10 days.

The people of Augsburg weren’t just upset that their calendar was being changed, which would skip birthdays and ruin weekends. Germany was a largely Protestant territory with a history of war between…

Source: Why England Was A Year Behind Belgium, Spain and Italy for 170 Years | Atlas Obscura

On this day: Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar

In Times Gone By...

On the 2^nd of September, 1752, Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar. Most of Western Europe had adopted the calendar some two centuries earlier, changing from the Julian calendar.

Included in this reform was the British Empire, including parts of what is now the United States.

The Julian calendar is still used alongside the Gregorian calendar in some parts of the world, which is the reason some countries in the east of Europe celebrate Easter and Christmas on different dates.

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