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Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar The form of calendar that is now in almost world-wide civil use. It was devised with the help of the German Jesuit mathematics teacher Christopher Clavius (1537–1612), and was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to replace the Julian calendar, which had got out of step with the seasons. In that year 10 days were omitted, Thursday October 4 being immediately followed by FridayOctober15. This change was made in order to re-establish March21 as the date of the vernal equinox. Britain and America did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752, by which time 11 days had to be omitted. Subsequently the calendar has been kept in step with the date of the vernal equinox by introducing a leap year every four years, as the Julian calendar had done, but suppressing the leap year in century years, unless the year is divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but 1600 and 2000 are. In the 400-year cycle there are therefore 97 leap years, giving an average length of the year of 365.2425 days, very close to the length of the tropical year (365.2422 days).
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Cite this article
"Gregorian calendar." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Gregorian calendar." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-Gregoriancalendar.html "Gregorian calendar." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-Gregoriancalendar.html |
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Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian Calendar. The calendar as reformed in 1582 by Gregory XIII and now in use in most of the Christian world. The calendar devised by Julius Caesar (46 BC) did not correspond exactly to the period taken by the earth to go round the sun, and an error of 10 days had accumulated. Protestant countries were reluctant to introduce the Gregorian calendar, and it was not adopted in England until 1752.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Gregorian Calendar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Gregorian Calendar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-GregorianCalendar.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Gregorian Calendar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-GregorianCalendar.html |
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Gregorian calendar
Gre·go·ri·an cal·en·dar / grəˈgôrēən/ • n. the calendar introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, as a modification of the Julian calendar. |
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Cite this article
"Gregorian calendar." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Gregorian calendar." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-gregoriancalendar.html "Gregorian calendar." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-gregoriancalendar.html |
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Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar, new calendar, or new style. The Julian calendar as adjusted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to make it cohere better with the solar year. It was not accepted in most Orthodox Churches until 1924.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Gregorian calendar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Gregorian calendar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Gregoriancalendar.html JOHN BOWKER. "Gregorian calendar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Gregoriancalendar.html |
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Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian Calendar, see calendar.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Gregorian Calendar." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Gregorian Calendar." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-GregorianCalendar.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Gregorian Calendar." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-GregorianCalendar.html |
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