The Eleven Days Parliament Had to Delete

A diplomat's personal irritation with mismatched dates on his own letters ended up rewriting an entire nation's calendar. On September 14, 1752, Britain completed its switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, a change championed in Parliament by Lord Chesterfield, whose smoother public performance won him credit for work that actually belonged to the mathematician George Parker, Earl of Macclesfield. Wednesday, September 2, was followed directly by Thursday, September 14, deleting eleven calendar days overnight and forcing Parliament to quickly pass a second law protecting wages, rents, and interest payments from the gap. The famous stories of angry mobs rioting in the streets don't hold up, that legend traces back to a satirical painting of an unrelated election two years later, but the disruption to everyday financial life was real, and it's part of why the UK's tax year still starts on April 6 today. This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com