The first
civilization to
develop a
system of time were the
Babylonians of the
Fertile Crescent. This
system relied on a
sexagesimal or
base-60 configuration, which led to a 60-second minute and a 60-minute hour. The known total of 86,400 seconds in a
day resulted in a day being
24 hours. Contrary to
popular belief, there are more than
365 days per year, yet only
slightly. Throughout
history, civilizations have tried to
compensate for this problem by
tweaking their calendars.
Caesar in 46
B.C.E. made the
most embarrassing mistake when he declared a 445-day year to make up for
three months that were not recorded.
Pope Gregory XIII fixed this whole problem in 1582. He devised the
Gregorian Calendar, which is still in use
today.
See also:
The origins of the Months