The Great Calendar Riot of 1752: When Changing Calendars Nearly Broke Britain

In September 1752, Britain went to bed on September 2nd and woke up on September 14th. Eleven days had simply vanished from the calendar overnight. The reason? Britain was finally adopting the Gregorian calendar that most of Europe had been using for 170 years, and those eleven days needed to be eliminated to sync up with the solar year.

The public reaction was allegedly chaos. According to popular accounts, riots broke out across England with angry mobs demanding "Give us our eleven days back!" People believed their lives had been literally shortened by eleven days. Workers feared losing eleven days of wages. Landlords and tenants fought over whether rent should be adjusted. Some believed they'd lost eleven days closer to death, or that their birthdays had been stolen.

But here's where it gets interesting - historians now debate whether these riots actually happened or if they were exaggerated propaganda. Contemporary accounts are surprisingly scarce. Some scholars think the "riots" were invented by politicians to mock the public's supposed stupidity. Others point to scattered evidence of genuine confusion and unrest.

What's undeniable is the absolute chaos the calendar change caused - contracts became disputed, birthdays shifted, historical records became confusing, and Britain's tax year STILL reflects the old calendar (that's why UK tax year starts April 6th instead of April 1st - they added the 11 days). Some people refused to celebrate Christmas on the "new" date and kept celebrating on January 5th.

This episode explores the Calendar Act of 1751, whether riots really occurred, the conspiracy theories that emerged, and how this change affects us even today.

Keywords: weird history, Calendar Act 1752, Gregorian calendar, British history, calendar riots, 18th century England, historical riots, calendar reform, lost days, time keeping history

Perfect for listeners who love: British history, conspiracy theories, historical confusion, riots and protests, and changes that affected everyone's daily life.