Gregorian Calendar

Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need.

"Geek the Library" November 23rd, at the Library - Bring us your tech "?'s"

The Rogers Public Library will be closed Nov 28 and 29 for the Thanksgiving Holidays. We will reopen on Sat. the 30^th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genealogy tip for today: Gregorian Calendar:

 

The Gregorian Calendar is a solar calendar, i.e. based on the rotation around the sun instead of the moon's rotation . It has 365 days divided into 12 irregular months. They all contain 30 or 31 except February. And February originally had more than twenty eight.  It had 29 and the 30^th in Leap year. But Julius Caesar was jealous of Augustus Caesar and stole a day from February so he could have 31, same as August!

Although technically the calendar is named after Pope Gregory VIII, he adapted it from a calendar devised by Luigi Lilio, who was an Italian doctor, astronomer, and philosopher, (also known as Aloysius Lilus). He was born in 1510 and died in 1576, just 6 years shy of the introduction of his calendar, via the Pope.

The Gregorian Calendar did much to fix the problems of the Julian Calendar if for nothing else - the Julian calendar had an error of one day every 128 years. But also they were adding leap year every three years instead of four. So it had too many days and 13 had to be removed. The Gregorian Calendar fixed that problem and lined it up to meet with the equinox, however when the change was made several days had to be dropped. To make the change better new rules were set to determine when Easter would occur and the rules for calculating Leap Year were changed. Now the Gregorian Calendar has to adjust only one day every 3236 years – much better than the Julian Calendar.

For genealogists the trick is knowing which calendar was used where and when. Portugal, Poland and Spain adopted the Gregorian in 1582. Others were not so quick. Great Britain and America did not begin using it until 1752. Japan switched to the Gregorian Calendar in 1873. China officially adopted it in 1912 but had feuding warlords. Not until China was nationalized did they begin using the Gregorian calendar, in 1929.

For the most part, your research may only be in the US, or only be after 1752. Even if you go back before then, the date adjustment may not be much of an issue. Probably the biggest problem you may encounter will be during that overlapping of dates such as George Washington’s.  Therefore it will be much easier for you to track.

Aren't you glad you don't have two birthdays? You'd have to be almost 200 years old anyway! ;-)

For more information on this topic you may go to < www.timeanddate.com>. Or type in the name of the calendar you wish to research.

 

This illustrates the 11 day difference in George Washington's two birth dates.

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is helpful in anyway.

 

 

Are you looking for an obituary in the Rogers, AR area? We have newspapers that go back to the late 1800’s although the early years have gaps. If you have email we can send you obits at no charge. If you need or wish for a paper copy the charge is only for copies and postage, with a minimum of about $2.00.

You may contact us through our website, rogerspubliclibrary.org under homepage/research/ask a librarian. Or you may email us directly at rplgenealogylibrarian@gmail.com .

 

Today in History

November 16
1798		British seamen board the U.S. frigate Baltimore and impress a number of crewmen as alleged deserters, a practice that contributed to the War of 1812.
1813		The British announce a blockade of Long Island Sound, leaving only the New England coast open to shipping.
1821		Trader William Becknell reaches Santa Fe, N.M., on the route that will become known as the Santa Fe Trail.
1846		General Zachary Taylor takes Saltillo, Mexico.
1864		Union General William T. Sherman departs Atlanta and begins his "March to the Sea."
1892		King Behanzin of Dahomey (now Benin), leads soldiers against the French.
1902		A cartoon appears in the Washington Star, prompting the Teddy Bear Craze, after President Teddy Roosevelt refused to kill a captive bear tied up for him to shoot during a hunting trip to Mississippi.
1907		The Indian and Oklahoma territories are unified to make Oklahoma, which becomes the 46th state.
1913		Swann's Way, the first volume of Marcel Proust's 7-part novel Remembrance of Things Past, is published.
1920		Metered mail is born in Stamford, Connecticut with the first Pitney Bowes postage meter.
1945		Eighty-eight German scientists, holding Nazi secrets, arrive in the United States.
1948		President Harry S Truman rejects four-power talks on Berlin until the blockade is removed.
1953		The United States joins in the condemnation of Israel for its raid on Jordan.
1955		The Big Four talks, taking place in Geneva on German reunification, end in failure.
1960		After the integration of two all-white schools, 2,000 whites riot in the streets of New Orleans.
1965		In the last day of the fighting at Landing Zone X-Ray, regiments of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division repulse NVA forces in the Ia Drang Valley.
1967		U.S. planes hit Haiphong shipyard in North Vietnam for the first time.
1979		American Airlines is fined $500,000 for improper DC-10 maintenance.
1982		The space shuttle Columbia completes its first operational flight.
1989		Salvadoran Army death squad kills six Jesuit priests and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University.
1992		Eric Lawes, while using a metal detector to search for a friend's lost hammer near Hoxne, Suffolk, England, discovers the Hoxne Hoard, the largest hoard of Roman silver and gold ever found in Britain, and the largest collection of 4th and 5th century coins found anywhere within the bounds of the former Roman Empire
1997		Pro-democracy Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng released from prison after 18 years, for health reasons.

Birthdays today

42 BC		Tiberius Claudius Nero, Roman Emperor.
1811		John Bright, British Victorian radical who founded the Anti-Corn Law League.
1839		Louis-Honore Frechette, Canadian poet.
1873		W.C. Handy, father of the blues, famous for "St. Louis Blues."
1889		George S. Kaufman, American playwright and collaborator with Moss Hart (You Can't Take it With You , The Man Who Came to Dinner).
1907		Burgess Meredith, actor; the first man to win the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, and a winner of several Emmys, he is considered one of the most accomplished actors of the 20th century.
1914		Edward Chapman, spy; after becoming a spy for Nazi Germany, he became a double agent serving his native England.
1930		Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist.
1935		Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanese Twelver Shi'a scholar; sometimes called the "spiritual mentor" of Hezbollah.
1952		Peter Keefe, TV producer (Voltron); credited with introducing American audiences to Japanese animation.

 

 

Word for the Day

rube

PRONUNCIATION:

(roob)

 

MEANING:

noun: An unsophisticated person from a rural area.

 

ETYMOLOGY:

Shortened form of name Reuben. Earliest documented use: 1891. Also see hey rube.

 

USAGE:

"Is he simply some rube, an easy target for fast-talking telephone magazine salespeople?"
Kevin Prokosh; Normal is Overrated; Winnipeg Free Press (Canada); Oct 18, 2013.

Quote for the Day

Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads. -Marianne Moore, poet (1887-1972)

 

 

 

 

Today’s Recipe

Holiday Cooking

 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (40 ounce) can cut sweet potatoes, undrained 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract   1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 2 quart baking dish.
2.	Place the sweet potatoes and their liquid in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, drain, and mash.
3.	In a medium bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, 1/3 cup butter, milk, and vanilla extract. Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.
4.	In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and 1/3 cup melted butter. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5.	Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

 

ENJOY!

 

Now You Know!