The 11 Days That Never Existed in 1752

Imagine going to bed on September 2nd and waking up on September 14th. That's exactly what happened to millions of people in Britain and its colonies in 1752, when the government decided to "lose" 11 days to catch up with the rest of Europe.

The story begins in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar to fix the inaccuracies of the Julian calendar. Catholic countries adopted it immediately, but Protestant Britain refused to follow a "Catholic calendar" for religious and political reasons.

For 170 years, Britain stubbornly stuck with the Julian calendar while most of Europe used the Gregorian system. This created a bizarre situation where the same event would have different dates depending on which country recorded it.

By 1752, the Julian calendar was 11 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Spring equinox, which should occur around March 21st, was happening on March 10th in Britain. This was causing practical problems with trade, diplomacy, and even religious observances.

Finally, Parliament passed the Calendar Act of 1750, mandating the switch. The act specified that September 2, 1752, would be followed immediately by September 14, 1752. Wednesday, September 2nd was followed by Thursday, September 14th.

The public reaction was explosive. Many people believed their lives had been literally shortened by 11 days. Riots broke out across the country with crowds chanting "Give us back our eleven days!" Workers demanded full wages for the shortened month. Landlords faced tenant revolts over rent payments.

Some of the chaos that ensued:

• Religious confusion: When should saints' days be celebrated? Old style or new style?
• Legal disputes: Were contracts and leases shortened by 11 days?
• Birthday confusion: When should people born before the change celebrate?
• Historical records: Events needed to be dated "Old Style" (O.S.) or "New Style" (N.S.)

The confusion was so great that many people continued using both dating systems for decades. This is why George Washington's birthday "moved" from February 11 to February 22—he was born under the Julian calendar, but we celebrate using the Gregorian date.

Interestingly, the British tax year still reflects this change. The tax year originally ended on March 25th (Lady Day), but when the calendar changed, the government didn't want to lose 11 days of tax revenue. So they moved the tax year end to April 5th (March 25th + 11 days), where it remains today.

Russia was the last major country to adopt the Gregorian calendar, finally making the switch in 1918 after the Russian Revolution. By then, the Julian calendar was 13 days behind, which is why the "October Revolution" actually took place in November according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Calendar Act of 1750 also moved New Year's Day from March 25th to January 1st in Britain, meaning that 1751 was only 282 days long—from March 25th to December 31st.

Today, we take our unified global calendar for granted, but the transition was one of the most disruptive administrative changes in British history. Those 11 missing days in September 1752 represent a fascinating moment when politics, religion, astronomy, and daily life collided in the most literal way possible.