Two Calendars, Two Birthdays; Washington Was Born Feb. 22, Right? Wrong.

Did you happen to check the date this morning? It's Feb. 22, andaccording to the calendar, George Washington's birthday.

Yes. Then again, no.

Our nation's first president was actually born on Feb. 11, 1731,according to the Julian calendar then used by the Colonies. For thefirst 19 years of his life, young George celebrated his birthday onthat date.

Then things got complicated.

The Julian calendar had a 12-month year measuring 365.25 days --an attempt to duplicate the time it takes the Earth to make acomplete revolution around the sun. However, the calendar exceededthe solar timetable by about 11 minutes a year. Over time, that errorcompounded so that every 128 years the calendar shifted out of syncby a full day.

As a result, by the late 16th century there was a 10-daydiscrepancy between the astronomical definition of time and thecalendar's definition. Easter, for example, was sliding towardsummer.

To rectify this, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed a calendarreform, starting with a new way of determining leap years, that cutthe annual time discrepancy from 11 minutes to about 30 seconds. And,to bring the secular calendar back in line with the sky calendar, 10days were dropped from the month of October that year.

In essence, "You went to bed on October 4 and woke up October 15,"said Geoff Chester, public affairs officer for the U.S. NavalObservatory in Washington.

The change to the new Gregorian calendar wasn't universallyaccepted, however. Great Britain and its colonies, for example,continued on the Julian system until 1752, by which time they were 11days out of whack with most of the world.

In another oddity, the British celebrated New Year's on March 25.The switch to the Gregorian calendar meant dramatic changes for theBritish Empire: The year 1751 was cut off at Dec. 31, rather thanextending to March 24, according to reference books.

The day after Dec. 31, 1751, was Jan. 1, 1752 -- meaning, inessence, that the days Jan. 1 to March 24, 1751, were dropped fromthe outgoing British calendar, and became Jan. 1 to March 24, 1752,under the newly adopted Gregorian system.

So while George Washington turned 19 on Feb. 11, 1750 (under theJulian calendar), his 20th birthday was celebrated in February 1752(under the Gregorian).

In the changeover to Gregorian, Britain eliminated 11 days fromthe month of September (similar to what was done in 1582) andParliament ordered that dates prior to 1752 on the Julian calendar bemoved 11 days.

That pushed Washington's birthday back to Feb. 22. The switchacknowledged that even though he was born Feb. 11, 1731, according tothe Julian calendar, to most of the world (which was using theGregorian calendar) it was Feb. 22, 1732.

Got it? If not, you're in good company. Historians often refer to1752 as "the year of confusion," Chester said.

Thankfully, by 1753 everyone was on the same track, and Washingtoncelebrated his birthday on Feb. 22 for the first time.

These days, the national observance of his natal day takes placeon the third Monday in February -- which, it should be noted, willnever fall on Feb. 22.

Happy Birthday, George!

Two Calendars, Two Birthdays; Washington Was Born Feb. 22, Right? Wrong.

Did you happen to check the date this morning? It's Feb. 22, andaccording to the calendar, George Washington's birthday.

Yes. Then again, no.

Our nation's first president was actually born on Feb. 11, 1731,according to the Julian calendar then used by the Colonies. For thefirst 19 years of his life, young George celebrated his birthday onthat date.

Then things got complicated.

The Julian calendar had a 12-month year measuring 365.25 days --an attempt to duplicate the time it takes the Earth to make acomplete revolution around the sun. However, the calendar exceededthe solar timetable by about 11 minutes a year. Over time, that errorcompounded so that every 128 years the calendar shifted out of syncby a full day.

As a result, by the late 16th century there was a 10-daydiscrepancy between the astronomical definition of time and thecalendar's definition. Easter, for example, was sliding towardsummer.

To rectify this, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed a calendarreform, starting with a new way of determining leap years, that cutthe annual time discrepancy from 11 minutes to about 30 seconds. And,to bring the secular calendar back in line with the sky calendar, 10days were dropped from the month of October that year.

In essence, "You went to bed on October 4 and woke up October 15,"said Geoff Chester, public affairs officer for the U.S. NavalObservatory in Washington.

The change to the new Gregorian calendar wasn't universallyaccepted, however. Great Britain and its colonies, for example,continued on the Julian system until 1752, by which time they were 11days out of whack with most of the world.

In another oddity, the British celebrated New Year's on March 25.The switch to the Gregorian calendar meant dramatic changes for theBritish Empire: The year 1751 was cut off at Dec. 31, rather thanextending to March 24, according to reference books.

The day after Dec. 31, 1751, was Jan. 1, 1752 -- meaning, inessence, that the days Jan. 1 to March 24, 1751, were dropped fromthe outgoing British calendar, and became Jan. 1 to March 24, 1752,under the newly adopted Gregorian system.

So while George Washington turned 19 on Feb. 11, 1750 (under theJulian calendar), his 20th birthday was celebrated in February 1752(under the Gregorian).

In the changeover to Gregorian, Britain eliminated 11 days fromthe month of September (similar to what was done in 1582) andParliament ordered that dates prior to 1752 on the Julian calendar bemoved 11 days.

That pushed Washington's birthday back to Feb. 22. The switchacknowledged that even though he was born Feb. 11, 1731, according tothe Julian calendar, to most of the world (which was using theGregorian calendar) it was Feb. 22, 1732.

Got it? If not, you're in good company. Historians often refer to1752 as "the year of confusion," Chester said.

Thankfully, by 1753 everyone was on the same track, and Washingtoncelebrated his birthday on Feb. 22 for the first time.

These days, the national observance of his natal day takes placeon the third Monday in February -- which, it should be noted, willnever fall on Feb. 22.

Happy Birthday, George!