Britain Adopts the Gregorian Calendar

September 14, 1752

Eleven days vanished overnight - September 2 was followed by September 14. Country parsons fumed that the government had stolen saints' days; Londoners complained about rent. Britain and its colonies, two centuries late, at last agreed with the Pope about what day it was. The adjustment also moved the start of the legal year from March 25 to January 1, tidying a medieval confusion that had persisted since the Reformation.