03 September - The British Empire skipped 11 days starting September 3 when it adopted the Gregorian calendar 1752

 

In 1752, the British Empire made a significant change by adopting the Gregorian calendar, which led to the skipping of 11 days. The changeover was part of a calendar reform to align the British calendar with the Gregorian calendar, which had already been adopted by many other European countries.

The Calendar Change

Before 1752, the British Empire used the Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE. However, the Julian calendar had a small error in calculating the length of a year, leading to a gradual misalignment with the solar year. By the 16th century, this misalignment had grown to about 10 days. To correct this, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582.

The Skip

To align with the Gregorian calendar, the British Empire skipped 11 days in September 1752. The day after 02 September  1752, was adjusted to be 14 September 1752. This meant that the days between 03 September and 13 September were effectively removed from the calendar.

Impact and Reactions

• Public Confusion and Unrest: The sudden loss of 11 days led to confusion and, in some cases, public unrest. There were reports, though likely exaggerated, of protests demanding the "return" of the lost 11 days. Some people believed they had been robbed of part of their lives.

• Legal and Financial Adjustments: Legal documents, financial transactions, and other records had to be adjusted to account for the missing days. For instance, rents and wages were prorated to ensure fairness during the transition.

• New Year Date Change: Along with adopting the Gregorian calendar, the British Empire also shifted the start of the new year from March 25 to January 1, bringing it in line with most of Europe.

Historical Context

The adoption of the Gregorian calendar was a crucial step in standardizing timekeeping across Europe. While many Catholic countries had adopted the Gregorian calendar soon after its introduction in 1582, Protestant countries, including Britain, were slower to make the change due to religious and political differences.

The calendar reform in 1752 marked a significant moment in British history, aligning its timekeeping with much of the rest of the world and avoiding further discrepancies with the solar year.