The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-12
CALENDAR CuRIOsITIEs.
Throughout Seven Years There VIII
he No Feb. 20 After 1896.
Noxx al

New York Herald.
The introduction of an additional day into
the calendar once in four years is necessary
to prevent the average year from being too
short AT the same time il makes the aver
age year a little too long. This adj tio1al
length Is so slight that II accumulates very
slowly. Nevertheless. 1t does accumulate.
and by the end OF century it amounts TO
nearly a day. For that reason once in a
marks a year as leap year is. omitted and
the average length Of the year Is reduced.
The English law determined in 175l en-
reforms in this calendar, and from those We
draw and use. The original determination
of the calendar was made By the Pope. and
afterwari it was adopted by all the coun-
Jan: II, 1852, the civil year was made 10
begin on that date, and not on March /,
as many had 1t. In the same year eleven
days were dropped from the calendar. from
the Sd to the 18th, inclusive. so that what
would have been the 18th became tie 3D.
With this change effected the remainder
By this change the dav which would rave
been Dec. % became Jan. 5. IT was from
this that the latter derived it's name Of
old Christmas day.
The further regulation OF the calendar
occurred in emitting the year 1900 from the
number of leap years Therefore in 1901 old
time until this that is the day Of me month
In Riders British Merlin for 1901 we
find 1t stated that 11o0 is not to be a leap
year, while 1901 is to be the fifth leap year
bissextile, or leap year. and the first year
of the twentieth century. For this CEN
fury the first leap year was 1904. which IS
described as such in the almanacS which
were then current
One old almanac for 1870. Moore's, names
the year as the fourth after bissextile or
leap year, and then states that, in spite of
its being the fourth wear from leap year
1926. the month of February had only
twenty-eight days. Following this fashion
1902 is called the sixth year after bissex-
tile, and 1903 the seventh.
Curious as all this appears TO us, Il is
precisely what we Will soon do. Through
out seven years there viii be no February
% after 1896. All Of the births and other
events which occur on that unfortunate
day OF the month will have no opportunity
TO celebrate their anniversary. That &C.
centric date, Feb. %. will then have an OPP
portunity for renown brought on by its
absence.
The calendar adjustment by which these
matters were arranged reaches forward to
distance that is startling 20 one whose
term of life is the seventy years of man.
It declared that the years $780, 1900, POO, Zoo
or any other hundredth year in time to
come shall consist OF 3s5 days and no more.
But the fact also remains that this adjust
ment OF the calendar was not quite accu-
rate. The one day omitted once in the CEN
fury made the average year very little
too short.
To remedy this defect the adjussers made
the following exception TO the rule making
the hundredth year of 3e5 days. except every
fourth hundredth year beginning with the
year 1000. These years Will be leap years.
that is the years 1000, 2400 $780, 500 will
have a Feb. -. But their days are not OF
great concern to US.