On This Day

Pope Gregory XIII announces the New Style calendar, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar

The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception).

The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts of Oriental Orthodoxy as well as by the Amazigh people (also known as the Berbers). For a quick calculation, between 1901 and 2099 the much more common Gregorian date equals the Julian date plus 13 days.

The Julian calendar was proposed in 46 BC by (and takes its name from) Julius Caesar, as a reform of the earlier Roman calendar, which was largely a lunisolar one. It took effect on 1 January 45 BC, by his edict.

Historical Significance

The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception).

Key People

Gregory XIII

Events Before

  1. Francis Drake is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard his galleon, the "Golden Hind" at Deptford, England

    Sir Francis Drake (1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer and privateer best known for making the second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (being the…

  2. The first ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," commissioned by Catherine de Medici, is staged in Paris

    Ballet is a formalized italian dance form with its origins in the Italian Renaissance courts of 15th and 16th centuries.

  3. English Parliament passes laws restricting Catholicism

    English Parliament passes laws restricting Catholicism

  4. English Jesuit priest Edmund Campion arrested for sedition in Anglican England (later hung, drawn and quartered)

    English Jesuit priest Edmund Campion arrested for sedition in Anglican England (later hung, drawn and quartered)

  5. Leiden University names Rudolph Snellius as math professor

    Leiden University names Rudolph Snellius as math professor

Events After

  1. William I of Orange marries Louise de Coligny, daughter of the Admiral of France

    William I of Orange marries Louise de Coligny, daughter of the Admiral of France

  2. Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the English crown, establishing the first English colony in North America and t

    Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the English crown, establishing the first English colony in North America and the beginning of the British Empire

  3. Dutch States General and Anjou sign treaty

    Dutch States General and Anjou sign treaty

  4. Brabant: Duke of Parma beats French mercenaries

    Brabant: Duke of Parma beats French mercenaries

  5. Richard Martin of London takes out the first life insurance policy, on William Gibbons; the premium is £383

    Richard Martin of London takes out the first life insurance policy, on William Gibbons; the premium is £383

More from the 1580s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on February 24, 1582?
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts of Oriental Orthodoxy as well as by the Amazigh people (also known as the Berbers). For a quick calculation, between 1901 and 2099 the much more common Gregorian date equals the Julian date plus 13 days.
Why is Pope Gregory XIII announces the New Style calendar, commonly known as the Gre... significant?
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception).
Who was involved in Pope Gregory XIII announces the New Style calendar, commonly known as the Gre...?
Key figures include Gregory XIII.

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