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Show ILeaplfe air x A Time for L. , .. " . :4 reat JtLventg o -Declaration. ,v1i.?. 4 iv MtlY V V By ELMO SCOTT WATSON tTSS EBRD A It Y 20 is approaching to re-S re-S mind us that this is leap year, a Kh year of 3CG (lays Instead of 3G5, In henee Fehrunry's 29 days instead . ol of its usual 28. The reason for JL I tne extra day in the month and nw?" tlle extra day 'n the year is con-1 con-1 yyy nected with some tinkering with Y y the calendar by several men away tr. ii.n11 back in ancient times. The first one to do It was the Roman era-perior, era-perior, Caius Julius Caesar, who in 46 B. C. established es-tablished a calendar on the basis of each solar year consisting of 303 days and six hours. But rather than bother with the one-fourth of a day each year, the six hours were "saved up" and a whole day added to every fourth year which was to be known as a "leap year," when, presumably, time leaped ahead one day. This calendar was defective, for the solar year actually consists of 305 clays, five hours and 49 minutes, therefore Caesar's calendar was gaining gain-ing 11 minutes on old Father Time every year. So Augustus Caesar, Julius' successor, tried his hand at tinkering with the calendar and ordered that there be no leap year for 12 years. Next the Tontiffs took a hand in the matter by inserting in-serting an extra day every third year instead of every fourth year and by the year 8 B. C. they had added 12 such days instead of only nine. When the march of time brought humanity down to the Sixteenth century it was discovered that the year was ten days off schedule, the spring equinox falling upon March 11 instead of March 21. To correct this error, Pope Gregory XIII in 15S2 ordered that the year should consist con-sist of 3G5 days only, with the extra day added every fourth year to make a bissextile or leap year. In order to prorent further irregularity It was decided that a year ending a century should be bissextile only at the end of each fourth century. In this way three days are "saved" in 400 years because the lapse of 11 minutes each year makes about three days in the period of four centuries. So while it is true that every year which is divisible by four is a leap year, there is the exception that a year, which ends a century is not a leap year, even If it is divisible by four, unless it is divisible by 400. So 10O0 was the last leap year of this character and the year 2000 will be the next one. Now that we are started on another leap year, , will history repeat itself and bring to pass event's of great importance as it has in the past? For no less than four of the greatest events ia American history took place during leap years the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, the landing of the Tilgrims in 1G20, the birth of Washington in 1732 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 17TG. In addition to these there have been a great number of other important events in pur history occurring during leap year, as witness the following fol-lowing chronological record : 150S Thomas Aubert sailed up the St. Lawrence Law-rence river. 1512 Ponce de Leon found Florida. 1504 French expedition built Fort St. Caroline Caro-line in Florida, and the occupants were massacred mas-sacred by the Spanish. 15GS The French took back Fort St. Caroline and massacred the Spanish. 15S0 New Mexico explored by a Spanish missionary, mis-sionary, Ruys. 15S4 Sir Walter Raleigh explored Virginia, and Virginia was named by Queen Elizabeth. 1612 First bricks manufactured in America made in Virginia. 1G16 First cultivated tobacco raised in Virginia. Vir-ginia. 1020 Ninety young women sold in Virginia as settlers' wives at 120 pounds of tobacco each ; first cargo of negro slaves sold at Jamestown. James-town. 1624 Dutch landed eight' men to take possession posses-sion of New York. 1G2S Salem, Mass., founded by John Endicott. 16o2 First church begun in Boston ; King Charles gave Maryland to Lord Baltimore. 1630 Hartford, Conn., and Providence, R. I., founded as colonies; Ilarvard university founded. 1610 First book printed in America at Cambridge, Cam-bridge, Mass., the Bay Tsalms Book. 1644 Three hundred Virginia settlers massacred mas-sacred by Indians. 1645 First instance of capital punishment' for witchcraft in" Massachusetts colony. lfi."2 Swedes took Delaware from the Dutch. 1C3G First Quakers came to America and -ere expelled from New England. 1GG4 King Charles gave his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, the grant known as New Jersey; British took New Amsterdam from the Independence- f Landing of Columbus -1492 Dutch and changed its name' to New York. 166S Maine was organized under jurisdiction of Massachusetts; first permanent settlement made in Michigan by Pere Marquette at Sault Ste. Marie. 1672 Parliament imposed first customs duties in America ; fi I ;t American whale fishery started from Nantucket. 1676 Nathaniel Bacon rebellion in Virginia. 16S0 Colony of New Hampshire separated from Massachusetts; Charleston, S. C, founded. 16S4 The French built a fort at Niagara Falls. 1692 Twenty persons killed in Massachusetts for witchcraft; College of William and Mary founded in Virginia. 1696 Cargo of negroes from Africa sold in Rhode Island and Boston. 1704 First regularly published newspaper in America issued, the Boston News Letter. 170S New York negroes plot to seize city and kill all whites ; several whites killed and 19 negroes convicted. 1720 First clocks imported to America (hour glasses used before) ; first iron made in America at forge at Coventry, Pa. 1732 Georgia chartered by the king, last of the 13 colonies to be formed. 1736 Augusta, Ga., founded ; first newspaper printed in Virginia, the Williamsburg Gazette. 1740 South Carolina legislature prohibited teaching negroes to write. 1752 New Year set at January 1 in English colonies, heretofore beginning on March 25. 1756 First settlement in Tennessee. 1764 British army under General Amherst took Canada from the French. 1764 Commons voted it had the right to tax the American colonies without representation; Louisiana given to Spain by France. 1765 Boston instituted an embargo on British goods ; British troops occupied Boston . 1772 First' umbrella Imported to America, at Baltimore, from India; burning of British ship Gaspee. 1776 Washington's victory at Trenton; first permanent settlement in California, Yerba Buena, on the site of San Francisco. 17S0 Benedict' Arnold went to the British as a traitor and Andre, British, captured and executed exe-cuted as a spy ; first buildings erected at Cincinnati. Cin-cinnati. 1754 First anti-slavery law in Connecticut, gradually abolishing slavery; ship Empress of China, of Boston, sailed from New York on first voyage direct from United States to China ; first daily newspaper in America, Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser. 1755 New federal Constitution adopted in all states but Rhode Island and North Carolina. 1792 First Republican party organized, later to become Democratic party, headed by Thomas Jefferson ; Washington re-elected President. 1796 Tennessee admitted to Union; Cleveland Cleve-land founded. 1504 Constitution amended to provide modern mod-ern method of electing President and Vice President. Pres-ident. 1505 Law halting importation of slaves in effect January 1; steamboat Phoenix, built by John Stevens, went from New York to Philadelphia Philadel-phia by sea. first steamboat to make an ocean trip in the world. 1S12 War with England; Louisiana admitted as a state; first cotton mill at Fall River, Mass. 1S36 Indiana admitted as a state; first savings sav-ings banks founded in United States at riiidadel-phia. riiidadel-phia. Boston and New York. 1S20 Slave trading by citizens of United States forbidden by congress under penalty of deatX ; 'Landinq of the Pilqrims 1620 Great National road, first federal highway, completed com-pleted from Cumberland to Wheeling, built in 14 years at cost of $1,700,000. 1824 Lafayette visited United States, anti. slave trade treaty signed with England ; first piece of machine-made flannel in world manufactured manu-factured in Massachusetts. 1S28 Protective tariff raised as big Issue first. time in United States; first trip in United States by a locomotive on a railroad. 1S32 First rebellion of a state against the United States and first declaration of secession, by South Carolina, over the tariff; source of the Mississippi river discovered; first application appli-cation of chloroform by inhalation. 1S36 Texas rebels from Mexico and the massacre of the Alamo takes place; first astronomical astro-nomical observations made in United States. 1840 Adams Express company founded ; first successful daguerreotypes made in New York ; Chesapeake and Ohio canal completed from Georgetown to Cumberland, 191 miles, at cost of $16,000,000. 1844 Mor.se introduced magnetic telegraph and Charles Goodyear first vulcanized rubber; first American newspaper on Pacific coast printed print-ed at Oregon City. 1848 Treaty of peace with Mexico, United States gaining huge territory ; gold found in Sacramento Sacra-mento valley, California. 1852 Telegraph fire alarm system invented and installed in Boston; manufacture of galvanized gal-vanized iron begun In United States at Philadelphia Phila-delphia ; first railroad from the East built into Chicago, the Michigan Southern railway. 1856 First passage of a vessel from the Great Lakes, Milwaukee to Europe via Wellington Welling-ton canal ; first wooden paving laid In United States at Chicago ; Bessemer process of steel making proven. 1SG0 Lincoln elected, determining circumstances circum-stances of the Civil war ; South Carolina legislature legisla-ture convened just before the election and called a convention which passed a secession law on December 20; first wild oil speculation caused by discovery of oil in Pennsylvania ; first pony express, completing journey from Missouri to San Francisco in nine days. 1S04 Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea ; Admiral Farragut blockades Mobile ; Early's raid to within seven miles of Washington; postal money order system put Into effect ; sorting of mail in transit in railway mail cars first put into effect ; Lincoln re-elected. 1868 President Johnson charged for Impeachment Impeach-ment and tried, the senate voting him guilty by 35 to 19, but the action failing for lack of constitutional con-stitutional majority. 1S72 Boston fire, loss, $75,000,000. 1876 Centennial of Independence celebrated at Philadelphia, at cost of $14,500,000; Custer battle in Montana. lSSO International postage rate of 5 cents an ounce adopted ; discovery of gold at Juneau, Alaska. 18.84 Greely Arctic party survivors rescued by Commander Schley's relief expedition. 1SSS President approves Chinese exclusion bill; 4S2 works on theology and religion published pub-lished in United States this year. 1S92 Grover Cleveland elected President ; Homestead steel strike and riots in Pittsburgh. 1S96 Election of President McKinley; Utah admitted to the Union. 1904 Theodore Roosevelt elected President ; Louisiana Purchase exposition at St. Louis. 1905 Formation of Progressive party under leadership of Roosevelt; William H. Taft elected President. 1912 Woodrow Wilson elected President; admission ad-mission of Arizona and New Mexico to the Unio.i. 1916 Raid by Pancho Villa, followed by invasion inva-sion of Mexico by American troops, federal reserve re-serve act passed; Woodrow Wilson re-elected. 1920 Warren G. Harding elected President; Nineteenth amendment to the Constitution proclaimed. pro-claimed. 1924 Calvin Coolidge elected President ; first airplane trip around the world. 1925 Herbert Hoover elected President ; Kellogg Kel-logg anti-war treaty signed in Paris. 1932 ??????? ( by Western Newspaper Union.) |