Who introduced the Gregorian calendar, which is in civil use across most of the world today?
- A.Julius Caesar
- B.Pope Gregory XIII
- C.Sosigenes of Alexandria
- D.Emperor Augustus
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Pope Gregory XIII. He issued the bull Inter gravissimas in February 1582 and the new calendar took effect that October, correcting the drift that had built up in the older system and tightening the rule for leap years. Option A, Julius Caesar, introduced the Julian calendar in 46 BC, the system that the Gregorian reform replaced, which makes him the commonest wrong choice. Option C, Sosigenes of Alexandria, was the astronomer who advised Caesar on that earlier reform, so he belongs to the Julian story and not the Gregorian one. Option D, Emperor Augustus, is remembered only for adjustments to the naming and length of months, the month of August being named after him. For the exam, fix the pair firmly: 46 BC with Caesar and the Julian calendar, 1582 with Gregory XIII and the Gregorian calendar.
Read the full article: Gregorian Calendar, Leap Years, Solstices and Equinoxes
Practice Questions
View allHow many days were omitted from the calendar when the Gregorian reform came into force in October 1582?
- A.7 days
- B.10 days
- C.11 days
- D.13 days
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Thursday, 4 October 1582 was followed immediately by Friday, 15 October 1582, so ten dates vanished while the sequence of weekdays continued unbroken; the correction was needed because the Julian year of 365.25 days was about eleven minutes too long and had pushed the spring equinox ten days out of…
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is NOT a leap year?
- A.1600
- B.2000
- C.1900
- D.2400
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Under the Gregorian rule a year divisible by four is a leap year, but a century year is a leap year only if it is also divisible by 400.
Read the full explanation →The Gregorian calendar was introduced to correct the errors of which earlier calendar?
- A.The Julian calendar
- B.The Saka calendar
- C.The Hijri calendar
- D.The Vikram Samvat
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The Julian calendar, in use from 46 BC, assumed a year of exactly 365.25 days, which is about eleven minutes longer than the true tropical year of roughly 365.2422 days, so it gained a day about every 128 years and the equinox slid out of place.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following calendars will be the same as the calendar for the year 2003?
- A.2014
- B.2013
- C.2012
- D.2011
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A year repeats another year's calendar when the odd days between them add up to a multiple of seven and both years are of the same kind, ordinary or leap.
Read the full explanation →If 14 January 2022 was Friday, then what will be the day of the week on 28 February 2025?
- A.Friday
- B.Monday
- C.Sunday
- D.Saturday
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Move forward one year at a time, adding one odd day for an ordinary span and two when a 29 February falls inside it.
Read the full explanation →