Pope Gregory XIII: (1502-1585)
He is perhaps best known for creating the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar still in use in the West today. According to the Julian calendar, the year is 365 days 6 hr, a bit long. By the 16th century all of this accumulated time had moved the vernal equinox to March 11 from March 21. So, in 1582 Gregory simply "deleted" 10 days from the new calendar, which now included "leap days" in order to make up for more accumulated time in the future. By 1585, it had replaced the older Julian calendar in most Catholic countries. Protestant countries adopted it only gradually and some Eastern Orthodox countries did not do so until the 20th century.
Sources: http://www.nndb.com/people/130/000094845/
http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_gregoryxiii.htm
He is perhaps best known for creating the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar still in use in the West today. According to the Julian calendar, the year is 365 days 6 hr, a bit long. By the 16th century all of this accumulated time had moved the vernal equinox to March 11 from March 21. So, in 1582 Gregory simply "deleted" 10 days from the new calendar, which now included "leap days" in order to make up for more accumulated time in the future. By 1585, it had replaced the older Julian calendar in most Catholic countries. Protestant countries adopted it only gradually and some Eastern Orthodox countries did not do so until the 20th century.
Sources: http://www.nndb.com/people/130/000094845/
http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_gregoryxiii.htm
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