[Info-vax] Why is starting epoch 17 Nov 1858?

[Tom Wade]

On 2021-03-09 23:49, Michael Moroney wrote:

> If it were up to me, I would have used whatever date the Gregorian 
> calendar first went into effect somewhere, so that earlier dates, in 
> fact all valid Gregorian calendar dates, could be represented. But, of 
> course, it wasn't up to me.
> 
> (somewhere = some Catholic country/ies, probably Italy. The Protestant 
> countries were quite reluctant to implement such popery at first.)

It may seem quaint that a sensible measuring reform could generate the 
kind of hysterical opposition that the Gregorian Calendar did, 
particularly in Britain. They held out for 170 years against what was 
perceived as a foreign attempt to foist something alien on them.

The same irrational not-invented-here resistance can be seen today in 
the US by those opposing the adoption of the Metric System, despite the 
fact that is far more logical and easier to use.

tom dot wade at tomwade dot eu