The Creation of Leap Year and Its Effects on Genealogy
This Saturday is February 29th, a relatively uncommon occurrence as days go. It’s a leap day in a leap year. Unless you’re like Dinah Shore, Tony Robbins, or Ja Rule, all of whom share a birthday that day, you may not even notice. For the rest of us, it’s a subtle reminder that calendars change. For genealogists in particular, it reminds us that subtle changes in calendars require our attention in researching key times and places.
Our calendar, and the most commonly used calendar in the world, is the Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII who commissioned it in 1582. In order to best understand the Gregorian calendar and its significance, however, we need to first understand its predecessor, the Julian calendar, and its accomplishments.
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About Author
Aaron Goodwin
Aaron is a genealogist and house historian specializing in New York City research across all time periods, from the Dutch colonial era to the 20th century. His book, New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians, won the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources. He is also editor of NGS Monthly, former contributing editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and former editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. In 2011, he received the American Society of Genealogists’ Scholar Award.