The '''Julian calendar''', named after [[Julius Caesar]], has twelve months in a year and a leap day every four years. Thus a Julian year is exactly 365.25 days. The astronomical year is slightly shorter, causing the Julian calendar to "drift" out of sync with the seasons by one day every 128 years. This defect is corrected in the [[Gregorian calendar]], a modified version of the Julian calendar created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The Julian calendar was used in Britain and its colonies until 1752, when they switched to the Gregorian calendar. George Washington was born in colonial Virgina on February 11, 1731 by the Julian calendar, but on February 22, 1732 according to the Gregorian calendar. Russia used the Julian calendar until 1918. | The '''Julian calendar''', named after [[Julius Caesar]], has twelve months in a year and a leap day every four years. Thus a Julian year is exactly 365.25 days. The astronomical year is slightly shorter, causing the Julian calendar to "drift" out of sync with the seasons by one day every 128 years. This defect is corrected in the [[Gregorian calendar]], a modified version of the Julian calendar created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The Julian calendar was used in Britain and its colonies until 1752, when they switched to the Gregorian calendar. George Washington was born in colonial Virgina on February 11, 1731 by the Julian calendar, but on February 22, 1732 according to the Gregorian calendar. Russia used the Julian calendar until 1918. |