The "Did You Know That George Washington Was Born Twice?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story titled "Why does George Washington have two birthdays!?!  Seems that most people know that George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 near Pope's Creek, Virginia.  He was the oldest son of Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington.  Sound correct so far?  Well, as I read on I read that according to his diary, he often celebrated his birthday on February 11.  After a party in 1794 on that particular day, he wrote in his diary that a party was held for his birthday at Nathan Griffith's Tavern, near Baltimore.  Of the fifteen toasts given on this occasion, one for every state at that time, the first was made to "The President of the United States."  Then in 1799, Washington  noted how he went to Alexandria to celebrate his birthday again on February 22.  

George Washington by Charles Peale, 1779

He wrote..."Went up to Alexandria to the celebration of my birthday.  Many Maneuvers were performed by the Uniform Corps and an elegant Ball & Supper at Night."  If you check out just about any historical record you will discover that Washington was born on February 11, 1731.  So, why was it changed to February 22?  Well, the switch has to do with adopting the Gregorian calendar from the old Julian calendar.  And...if you begin to get confused at all while reading my story, just skip to the end and read the final sentence!  It was during the Middle Ages that it became apparent that the Julian leap year formula had overcompensated for the actual length of a solar year, having added an extra day every 128 years.  But, adjustments were never made to compensate and by 1582 seasonal equinoxes fell ten days "too early" and some church holidays, such as Easter, didn't always fall in the proper seasons.  In that particular year, Pope Gregory XIII authorized, and most Roman Catholic countries adopted the "Gregorian" or "New Style" Calendar.  

Pope Gregory XIII (artist unknown)

To accommodate the change, ten days were dropped from October, and the formula for determining leap years was revised so that only years divisible by 400 at the end of a century would be leap years.  January 1 was established as the first day of the new year.  Protestant countries, including England and its colonies, not recognizing the authority of the Pope, continued to use the Julian Calendar. Between 1582 and 1752, not only were two calendars used in Europe, but two different starts of the year were in use in England.  Although the "Legal" year began on March 25, the use of the Gregorian calendar by other European countries led to January 1 becoming commonly celebrated as "New Year's Day" and given as the first day of the year in almanacs.  Are you totally confused by now?  And, think how you would feel if you were a child and your birthday was missed for 6 or even 8 years in a row.  I'm only hoping that I have typed all this stuff correctly so far.  Well, to avoid misinterpretation, both the "Old Style" and the "New Style" years were often used in English and colonial records for dates falling between the new New Year (January 1) and the old New Year (March 25), a system known as "double dating."  Hey, I did that a few times in high school.  Such dates are usually identified by a slash mark [/] breaking the "Old Style" and "New Style", for example, March 19, 1631/2.  Occasionally, writers would express the double date with a hyphen, for example, March 19, 1631-32.  Double dating was more common in civil than church and ecclesiastical records.  Under the 1750 act of Parliament, England and its colonies changed calendars in 1752.  England's calendar change included three major components.  The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar, changing the formula for calculating leap years.  The beginning of the legal new year was moved from March 25 to January 1.  Finally, 11 days were dropped from September 1752.  And...that's why I feel younger that I really am.  As a result, Washington's old birthday on February 11, 1731 jumped to February 22, 1732.  However, he always enjoyed celebrating his birthday on both dates.  So...did we celebrate his birthday on the correct day this year, or will we have to do that next year?  Think of all the presents you could get with having two birthdays every year.  And, to top that off, perhaps you might be able to squeeze in two Christmas' each year.  You do have to make sure that your birthday doesn't fall on the same day as Christmas as did my Aunt Doris.  Now...if you can understand everything I just typed...you are very good with numbers. I just have to hope I didn't make 2 many mystakes when I typed all this noncense.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.