The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1892-07-09
THE WRONG DATE.
Congress Preparing to Celebrate
the Discovery of America
Data Which Go to Show That There Is
b Mistake Regarding the Time of
the Landing OF Columbus
in America.

Congress has made arrangements to
commemorate the four hundredth ami
versary of the discovery of America by
Columbus on the 18th of October, 1892.
Now, l wish, says a writer in the Phila-
delphia Press, to call your attention to
the fact that if they do so they will fail
not only in the day Of the month, but
the day of the week also.
Columbus landed on the island of San
Salvador on Friday, October -, 1892,
old style, which was Friday, October
81, new style, which is very near the
true, or solar time, there being an error
in the Julian calendar at that time of
Ynine days. The Julian calendar, which
was then in use throughout Europe,
and the very best hat had ever been
given to the world, made the year too
long by more than eleven minutes.
Those eleven minutes a year had ac-
cumulated from the council of Nice in
1926 to the discovery of America in 1892
to nine days; SO that the civil year was
nine days behind the true or solar
time-that is, when the earth in her
annual revolution had arrived at that
point in the ecliptic coinciding with the
21st of October, the civil year, according
to the Julian calendar, was the 18th.
Now, to restore the coincidence, the
nine days must be dropped or sup
pressed, calling what was enormously
called the 18th of October the 21st.
Since the Julian calendar was corrected
by Gregory in 1882 we have S o inter
,calated as to retain, very nearly, the
coincidence of the solar and the civil
year.
In the Julian calendar the ~intercalary
period is four years; so that, after
twenty-eight years, the coincidence is
restored between the day of the month
and the day of the week, and for the
next twenty-eight years events will
again occur in the same order on the
same day of the week. Butin the Gregor-
ian calendar both the intercalary period
and the cycle is four hundred years, so
that after four hundred years the coin
cidcnce is restored between the day of
the month and the day of the week,
and for the next four hundred years
events will again occur in the same or
der ON the same day of the week.
For example, the n hundredth an
niversary occurred on Wednesday, the
two i~hundredth on Tuesday, the three
hundredth on Sunday, and now the
four hundredth on Friday. Then again
in 1892 on Wednesday, 20S3 on Tuesday,
1892 on Sunday and 1892 on Friday
again, and so on. Now, as America
was discovered on Friday, October 10,
1892, and the cycle of four hundred
years will be completed on Friday, Oc-
tober d, 1892, so Friday, October p, is
the day to be observed in the commem-
Grafton of that event.
Should we make computations in old
style both for the day of discovery and
the day of the anniversary, we would
make the event to occur twelve days
too soon, and on Monday, as the discrep-
ancy during this century is twelve days.
Russia, by adhering to the old calendar,
is now twelve days behind the true
time in her reckoning. Should we
make the first event old style and the
second new style, we would be nine
days too soon, and the anniversary
would fall on Wednesday. But, as has
already been shown, calculation should
be made in new style both for the dis
cOVery anu Inc anniversary, dhu VIC
event will occur on Friday, October 81,
1892.
No one thinks of observing the 18th
or February as the birthday of Wash
though it is recorded in history
that he was born on the 18th of Feb
ruary, 1872. Twenty years after his
birth, in 1852, England, under whose
government we were living, after suf-
fering the inconvenience of using a diff
date from the most of Europe
for one hundred and seventy years,
the Gregorian rule of interca-
lation, and made the correction by sup
pressing eleven days. Call the 3rd of
of hat year the 18th; conse-
luently we call what was enormously
called the 18th of February the 22nd as
The birthday of our Washington.