In honor of Daylight Savings Time and our perception of a lost hour– “An Election Entert
In honor of Daylight Savings Time and our perception of a lost hour– “An Election Entertainment” by William Hogarth (1755). This painting features a blue banner reading “Give us back our 11 days” (in the window to the right). The banner’s appearance as part of some sort of mass demonstration led to the commonly held belief that the switch from the Julian to Gregorian calendars in September, 1752, caused large-scale riots due to the perceived “loss” of 11 days (during that year Sept. 2 was followed by Sept. 14th). However, contemporary evidence indicates that the change was relatively uneventful–although it is easy to imagine confusion in terms of bills, events, and other aspects of day-to-day life. See the link for information about how other European countries made this switch. -- source link
#eighteenth-century culture#calendar#hogarth