New Britain herald., 1928-02-29
Leap Year Did Not "Just Happen; It is Product of Centuries of
 Mathematics by Greatest Minds
February 29 is Reminder of Mans Bungling Efforts Through Thousands of Years to Frame Accurate
 Calendar for Registering Time.

Washington. D. c. Feb. 29. Leap year day. February 2sth, is a remin- der of mans bungling efforts through thousands of years to frame an accurate calendar" says bull letin from the Washington. D. c. headquarters of the National Geo. graphic society. "He hasn't achieved complete accuracy yet" continues the bulletin. but he is much closer to properly measuring the passage of the years than his remote ances- tors were. or than were the founders of the United States.
 Tt was twenty years after George Washington was born that the Eng fish speaking world changed it's cal- endar from Old Style to the New Style that we use today. making a difference of eleven days. The in- fant George Washington first saw the light on February II, 1732: but we celebrate February P as his na- tai day, since that conforms to the corrected date.
 Mohammetlan New Year
 "To see how far we have pro- gressed in time measurement, one has only to consider the existing calendar of the Mohammedan world In Christendom's calendar our New Year Day now stays pretty firmly fixed in the winter time. Not so the merrily around the calendar, run- { hn of SS years.
 "The first calendar was inevitably moon calendar; for the changes in the phases of the moon marked the most obvious time cycle after the short one of day and night. This unm modified moon calendar is that used by Modammedam today. Be- cause twelve of these lunar months taken as a year, do not equal the Tenth of true sun year by about eleven days, the calendar gains q year in the number recorded in ap- proximately B years.
 Originated in Chaltlea
 "The ancient Chaldeans started with the lunar year. but discovered the real year as measured by the revolution of the earth around the sun. Seeing the error when moon years were used, they took the first steps toward bringing the months and days and years into some sort of harmony. The abandoned the &C., tual moon months and created the arbitrary months such as we have today. These were twelve months of 30 days each to the year, making a 36O day year. This, they consd- cred to be five days short. The error was allowed to accumulate for six years and then an extra 30 month was inserted to take care of the 30 accumulated days. Thus they let q given date slip gradually backward from it's moorings for six years, and then suddenly brought it forward to it's supposed proper position.
 ''As matter of fact. the earth travels completely around the sun in 365 days, hours, 4S minutes, 1851 seconds; so under the Chaldean the odd hours, minutes and seconds were ignored. But they could not be abolished. They piled up to plague the Magi, the priestly keepers of the calendar: and grad ually, recurring events of the year, like the solstices and the equinoxes. slipped away from their proper dates.
 Months Now Misnamed
 'The early Romans had first 10, then F arbitrary months. the latter c9 and 30 days long, From the original Roman months we get the names September October, November and December They mean seventh eighth ninth and tenth although they now relate 10 our ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months.
 "The twelve months of 29 and 30 days gave the Romans a year 354 lays long. Then superstition took ! hand: they added one day for luck. The year was still more than ten lays short; so every second year an month was added. of ength decreed by the priests or pon- ifs. And there is where graft en- cred into the making of the calen- lar. Days would be dropped out to 'ayor some influential creditor; or