The Answer:
Our encyclopedia entry for George Washington gives
his birthday as Feb. 22, 1732 in our current calendar, and Feb. 11,
1731, Old Style. At first glance, this seems absurd; while the Julian
calendar that used to be used wandered off course over the centuries,
the difference amounted to eleven days at that point,
not a year and eleven days.
There's one more detail, however: under the calendar in use when
Washington was born, the
year began on March 25, not January 1. As a result, February
11, 1731 O.S. is, in fact, February 22, 1732 in our current
system.
—The Editors
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