Marking Time
The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar
Chapter One
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY
Fifteen miles south of Washington, D. C., abreast the Potomac River where it
flows through the verdant countryside of Virginia, stands Mount Vernon, the home
and tomb of George Washington, first president of the United States. Many a
calendar has, under the date February 22, a note saying something like Birth of
George Washington, 1732. But the Washington family Bible, preserved at Mount
Vernon, has the following entered within its covers:
George Washington, son to Augustine and Mary his wife, was born ye 11th day of
February 1731/32 about 10 in the morning, and was baptized on the 30th of April
following.
Throughout his life, Washington celebrated his birthday on February 11, and he
was not mistaken. Nor is that calendar hanging on your wall incorrect: the date
known as Washington's Birthday is indeed February 22. In this book we are going
to see how this paradox can be reconciled. But in doing so we will open up a
whole can of worms (or Pandora's box, ... read full excerpt from Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar ebook
