On this day – Great Britain and the Colonies began using the Gregorian calendar

September 14, 1752 was the first day that the Gregorian calendar came into use in Great Britain and its empire, including the American colonies.

Daylight savings time pales in comparison to this event – 11 whole days were lost, as British citizens went to bed on September 2nd, waking up on the 14th. ⏰📅⏳

Did you know? The previously used Julian calendar measured a year as 365 days and 6 hours long. An actual year is, on average, 365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes long. This discrepancy of 11 minutes may not sound like much, but after 1000+ years of use, the Julian calendar was over a week off.

As other countries switched to the more accurate system, England and its colonies held out, causing confusion in trade, legal documents, and other dated business transactions with other countries.

Many colonists disliked the change, but Benjamin Franklin welcomed it, reportedly quipping, “It is pleasant for an old man to be able to go to bed on Sept. 2, and not have to get up until Sept. 14.” 👴 🛌

Poster calendar 1897 – July, August, September, Louis Rhead, 1896