Was Mid-Night always considered the transition point between two days in Gregorian/Julian Calendars?
score:21
It wasn't simple to track time at night until the invention of mechanical clocks. Before that the breakpoint between days was sunrise (early Roman), solar midnight (later Roman), or sunset (Athenians, Jews) depending on the area and period.
Also worth noting is that until mechanical clocks the length of hours would also vary from a day to the next, and time at night wasn't always counted the same way as during the day. The Roman time table that follows, for instance, highlights how days were split in 12 like today, while nights were split in 4 segments in practice - the latter corresponding to guard shifts.
Upvote:7
There are things called Nautical time and astronomical day, with Wikipedia entries describing them, where the day begins at noon. Presumably this was useful in specialized trades (ship driving, star gazing) at various times in history. The Nautical time entry in Wikipedia has this funny bit:
Up to late 1805 the Royal Navy used three days: nautical, civil (or "natural"), and astronomical. A nautical day entered in a ship's log as 10 July, for example, in fact commenced at noon on 9 July civil reckoning, PM therefore coming before AM. The astronomical day of 10 July, on the other hand, commenced at noon of 10 July civil reckoning, and ended at noon on 11 July. The astronomical day was brought into use following the introduction of the Nautical Almanac in 1767, and the British Admiralty issued an order ending the use of the nautical day on 11 October 1805. The US did not follow suit until 1848, while many foreign vessels carried on using it until the 1880s.
The US Navy Observatory's History of the Nautical Almanac says that in 1925 the astronomical day was redefined to begin at midnight. According to this professional astronomical journal article the switch-over was scheduled for 1 Jan 1925.
More post
- 📝 When did the use of fabricated speeches in historical works go out of fashion?
- 📝 Why did Hideyoshi invade Korea?
- 📝 Where on a modern map are these areas of Ptolemy's map?
- 📝 Which European countries did not have a revolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution and why?
- 📝 Is there a majority viewpoint for the fall of the ancient Egyptian civilization?
- 📝 What was the League of Sublime and Perfect Masters?
- 📝 How did the British Navy pass orders to its fleet before radio?
- 📝 Who is this person depicted on a wall in Estonia?
- 📝 Why was record keeping forbidden in Ancient Sparta?
- 📝 The link between Kaiser Wilhelm I. and the city of Bonn
- 📝 What was the need to call the Estates-General of 1789?
- 📝 What model was used to explain stellar energy before nuclear fusion was discovered?
- 📝 How did the Nazis plan to defeat America during World War II?
- 📝 Why did workers in the Industrial Revolution accept submission?
- 📝 Why weren't Australian Aborigines enslaved?
- 📝 Why is the English name of the country "Russia" not spelled "Rossia" (with the letter o)?
- 📝 What kind of building materials did Cavendish use in determining the density of the earth?
- 📝 How do I find the sources which determined the year of the fall of Babylon?
- 📝 Did the Byzantines forget using the caltrops?
- 📝 Countries involved in World War 1(the Great War)
- 📝 Any precedents of U.S. presidents having served in other government roles after the ends of their terms?
- 📝 Is eenie meenie miney mo about lynching?
- 📝 How did Belgium manage to maintain control over their colonies while they were occupied?
- 📝 How independent were the Eastern European countries from the Soviet Union?
- 📝 Churchill: What brave men of Barcelona?
- 📝 Who was the US town Hayden in Arizona named after?
- 📝 In what ways were the creators of the USA's system of government inspired by Roman government?
- 📝 Japan is a nation of twelve year olds: Why?
- 📝 Why were slave armies used?
- 📝 What was the first recorded instance of sex or violence being inappropriate for children to see?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was Mid-Night always considered the transition point between two days in Gregorian/Julian Calendars?
- 📝 When was the first known international call between two heads of state or government?
- 📝 What was the largest empire in terms of time of communication between its two ends?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 Was England called England in the days of King Arthur?
- 📝 Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
- 📝 At what point was the Byzantine Empire's decline irreversible?
- 📝 What was the point of horse armour?
- 📝 Why was Switzerland not attacked during the two World Wars?
- 📝 Why was the Roman Empire considered an empire rather than a kingdom (again)?
- 📝 How and why was the boundary between West and East Berlin decided to be where it was?
- 📝 How was the modern geographic boundary between Europe and Asia decided?
- 📝 How was the Luftwaffe able to destroy nearly 4000 Soviet aircraft in 3 days of operation Barbarossa?
- 📝 What was the shortest time between a historical event occuring and a museum opening dedicated to said event?
- 📝 Why was the Cold War carried out over the whole world instead of between Siberia and Alaska?
- 📝 How common was marriage between nobles and peasants in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 How was Israel able to build a powerful military within days of the formation of the state?
- 📝 Besides Mexico, who was considered as a potential ally of the Central Powers?
- 📝 How was security on the Silk Road between China and the West maintained?
- 📝 Was it ever illegal for two people of different religions to marry in the UK?
- 📝 Was the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age violent?
- 📝 Was the Battle of Tours really the turning point for the Umayyad expansion into Europe?
- 📝 Why was the date moved by 10 days instead of 9 during Gregorian calendar reform?
- 📝 What Was the State of German Tank Design In Between the World Wars?
- 📝 Why was Northern Ireland mostly peaceful from the late 1920s to the mid 1960s?
- 📝 Did the Romans see Africa as a black continent? Was there a perception of a divide between Africa and Europe?
- 📝 When was the concept of the "border wall" between the United States and Mexico first proposed?
- 📝 What is considered to be the pivotal battle between Caesar and Pompey?
- 📝 Was there any connection between the Ottonians and Benedictines?
- 📝 In the British empire, what was the difference between a Governor General and a Viceroy?