I was wondering about April 23rd really being Shakespeare's birthday, given the shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. I found that addressed at bloggingtherenaissance.blogspot.comIn fact, we don't have a record of Shakespeare's birth, though we do have one of his christening on April 26, 1564. The assumption is that he was born 3 days before that.
However, April 23rd of 1564 was a date based on the Julian calendar. What's the effect of the shift to the Gregorian calendar?
The Julian calendar was made up of 365 1/4 days a year. It defined the dates of Europe from the days of Julius Caesar in 45 BCE through 15821 adding up to ten extra days by that time.
The Julian calendar was made up of 365 1/4 days a year. It defined the dates of Europe from the days of Julius Caesar in 45 BCE through 15821 adding up to ten extra days by that time.
That changed in 1852 when Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar, subtracting those ten days with a massive leap forward. That year the day after October 4th was designated October 15th. Talk about losing time!
England being England, though, and not considering itself subject to Catholic rule, adhered to the Julian calendar for nearly two more centuries. It only adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
England being England, though, and not considering itself subject to Catholic rule, adhered to the Julian calendar for nearly two more centuries. It only adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
By then an additon day was added on January 1, 1700. A day was also added 100 years later and 100 years after that. However, there was no additional day added in 2000.
According to the calculations of that blog, Shakespeare's April 23rd birthday actually translates into a May 3rd birthday in the Gregorian calendar.
According to the calculations of that blog, Shakespeare's April 23rd birthday actually translates into a May 3rd birthday in the Gregorian calendar.
So, happy "true" (Gregorian) 450th of the Bard! (May 3, 2014)... no reason not to celebrate it yet again.. and keep it up through the 6th to make sure we hit the "real" day (I did this with April 23-26)
ReplyDeleteMy friends would tell me, why aren't you (thou) writing!? Then I found out that I share the same birthday with Shakespeare. May 3. Machiavelli too and James Brown!
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