Re: Newtonmas?

From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Mon Dec 23 2002 - 19:35:19 MST


> (spike66 <spike66@attbi.com>):
> Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
> >>
> >>" [...] since the reformed calendar was accepted in England
> >>only after Newton's death, when does Newton's birth anniversary
> >>now fall: on Christmas day or next year? ".
> >
> >Correcting for the modern Gregorian calendar, the anniversary of
> >Newton's birthday is January 4.
>
> Curses, Lee! You have destroyed one of my fondest
> illusions. {8-[ A pox upon you! (One to which you
> are immune, please. Im not *that* irate) {8-] spike

Well, the myth is still true: when Isaac's parent's looked at
the (Julian) calendar the day he was born, it said "December 25".
For most anniversaries I'd say keeping the nominal date is fine,
but for the man who taught us _why_ the Earth revolves around the
sun, perhaps it does make sense to celbrate actual orbit-year
anniversaries.

Another oddity to ponder: Russia didn't switch over to the
Gregorian calendar until after the revolution, so the real
anniversary of the October revolution happens in November.

I had a smallpox vaccination in 1973, but I don't think
they last that long.

-- 
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC


This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jan 15 2003 - 17:58:52 MST