The International Fixed Calendar (also known as the Cotsworth plan , the Cotsworth calendar , the Eastman plan or the Yearal ) was a proposed reform of the Gregorian calendar designed by Moses B. Cotsworth , first presented in 1902. The International Fixed Calendar divides the year into 13 months of 28 days each. A type of perennial calendar , every date is fixed to the same weekday every year. Though it was never officially adopted at the country level, the entrepreneur George Eastman instituted its use at the Eastman Kodak Company in 1928, where it was used until 1989. While it is sometimes described as the 13-month calendar or the equal-month calendar, various alternative calendar designs share these features.
41-533: The calendar year has 13 months with 28 days each, divided into exactly 4 weeks (13 × 28 = 364). An extra day added as a holiday at the end of the year (after December 28, i.e. equal to December 31 Gregorian), sometimes called "Year Day", does not belong to any week and brings the total to 365 days. Each year coincides with the corresponding Gregorian year, so January 1 in the Cotsworth calendar always falls on Gregorian January 1. Twelve months are named and ordered
82-472: A Sunday, and ends on a Saturday; consequently, every year begins on Sunday. Neither Year Day nor Leap Day are considered to be part of any week; they are preceded by a Saturday and are followed by a Sunday, making a long weekend . As a result, a particular day usually has a different day of the week in the IFC than in all traditional calendars that contain a seven-day week. The IFC is, however, almost compatible with
123-542: A certain moral strictness, led to some decline during the Republican period. Nevertheless it had appeal with the military class as Benjamin Constant joined the group before breaking with it because he deemed Mendes and Lemos as too fanatical. Cândido Rondon 's conversion proved more solid as he remained an orthodox Positivist and a member of the faith long after the church's importance waned. Although it has declined,
164-407: A continuous whole, including the past, the present and the future”, Mill thought that the details of Comte's ritualism were not only illiberal but “could have been written by no man who had ever laughed”. The social impact of Comte's ideas is hard to fully gauge but examples can be found in history. One of Comte's devoted English followers had been Henry Beveridge . Influenced by his father's ideas,
205-502: A day earlier. March in the Fixed Calendar always has a fixed number of days (28), and includes an eventual Gregorian February 29. The rule for finding leap years is the same in both calendars. Lunisolar calendars , with fixed weekdays, existed in many ancient cultures, with certain holidays always falling on the same dates of the month and days of the week. The idea of a 13-month perennial calendar has been around since at least
246-403: A festival on the 365th day, followed by a subsequent feast day occurring only in leap years. Whether Moses Cotsworth was familiar with the 13-month plans that preceded his International Fixed Calendar is not known. He did follow Ap-Iccim (Jones) in designating the 365th day of the year as Christmas. His suggestion was that this last day of the year should be designated a Sunday, and hence, because
287-423: A given year may be determined using regular cycles such as the 19-year Metonic cycle ( Hebrew calendar and in the determination of Easter ) or using calculations of lunar phases ( Hindu lunisolar and Chinese calendars ). The Buddhist calendar adds both an intercalary day and month on a usually regular cycle. In principle, lunar calendars do not employ intercalation because they do not seek to synchronise with
328-573: A sixth epagomenal day is intercalated every four years in some (Coptic, Ethiopian and French Republican calendars). The Solar Hijri calendar , used in Iran, is based on solar calculations and is similar to the Gregorian calendar in its structure, and hence the intercalation, with the exception that its epoch is the Hijrah . The Bahá'í calendar includes enough epagomenal days (usually 4 or 5) before
369-486: A whole number of days (it is about 365.24 days), but a calendar year must have a whole number of days. The most common way to reconcile the two is to vary the number of days in the calendar year. In solar calendars, this is done by adding an extra day ("leap day" or "intercalary day") to a common year of 365 days, about once every four years, creating a leap year that has 366 days ( Julian , Gregorian and Indian national calendars ). The Decree of Canopus , issued by
410-416: Is usually no discernible order in the sequencing of 29- or 30-day month lengths. Traditionally, the first day of each month is the day (beginning at sunset) of the first sighting of the hilal (crescent moon) shortly after sunset. If the hilal is not observed immediately after the 29th day of a month (either because clouds block its view or because the western sky is still too bright when the moon sets), then
451-606: The ISO week standard , starting their weeks on Monday), and the Gregorian leap-year rule. To promote Cotsworth's calendar reform the International Fixed Calendar League was founded in 1923, just after the plan was selected by the League of Nations as the best of 130 calendar proposals put forward. Sir Sandford Fleming , the inventor and driving force behind worldwide adoption of standard time , became
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#1732766125618492-722: The Nouveau Grand-Être Suprême (New Supreme Great Being). "This was later to be supplemented in a positivist trinity by the Grand Fétish (the Earth) and the Grand Milieu (Cosmic Space)". In Système de politique positive (1851–1854) Comte stated that the pillars of the religion are: In Catéchisme positiviste (1851), Comte defined the Church of Humanity's seven sacraments : The Religion of Humanity
533-501: The World Calendar in this regard, because it also starts Sunday and has the extra day at the end of the year and the leap day in the middle, except IFC leaps on Gregorian June 17 and TWC leaps two weeks later on July 1. Since this break of the ancient week cycle has been a major concern raised against its adoption, various leap week calendars have been proposed as a solution. * The two special dates have been recorded as either
574-543: The 29th day of the month ending or the 0th day of the month beginning, or, more correctly, as outside any month and week with no ordinal number. The date for today, 25 November 2024, using this calendar is Saturday, 21 November 2024. The following table shows how the 13 months and extra days of the International Fixed Calendar occur in relation to the dates of the Gregorian calendar: * In a leap year, these Gregorian dates between March and June are
615-411: The Gregorian rule. There is a leap year in every year whose number is divisible by 4, but not if the year number is divisible by 100, unless it is also divisible by 400. So although the year 2000 was a leap year, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were common years. The International Fixed Calendar inserts the extra day in leap years as June 29 - between Saturday June 28 and Sunday Sol 1. Each month begins on
656-498: The Julian calendar this was done every four years. In the Gregorian, years divisible by 100 but not 400 were exempted in order to improve accuracy. Thus, 2000 was a leap year; 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not. Epagomenal days are days within a solar calendar that are outside any regular month. Usually five epagomenal days are included within every year ( Egyptian , Coptic , Ethiopian , Mayan Haab' and French Republican Calendars ), but
697-467: The Religion of Humanity venerated only individuals who made positive contributions and excluded those who did not, Ludwig Feuerbach 's religion venerated all human beings. According to Tony Davies, Comte's secular and positive religion was "a complete system of belief and ritual, with liturgy and sacraments, priesthood and pontiff, all organized around the public veneration of Humanity", referred to as
738-476: The age of twenty-eight, studying in positivist schools. From thirty-five to forty-two a priest served in an apprentice position as teacher and ritualist. Only at the age of forty-two could he become a full priest. They earned no money and could not hold offices outside the priesthood. In this way their influence was purely spiritual and moral. The High Priest of Humanity was to live in Paris, which would replace Rome as
779-466: The calendar plan failed to win final approval of the League of Nations in 1937. Intercalation (timekeeping) Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day , week , or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of days or months. The solar or tropical year does not have
820-545: The centre of religion. Davies argues that Comte's austere and "slightly dispiriting" philosophy of humanity – viewed as alone in an indifferent universe (which can only be explained by "positive" science) – "was even more influential in Victorian England than the theories of Charles Darwin or Karl Marx". The system was ultimately unsuccessful but, along with Darwin 's On the Origin of Species , it influenced
861-598: The church still survives in Brazil. The national flag of Brazil bears the motto "Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress"), inspired by Comte's motto of positivism: "L'amour pour principe et l'ordre pour base; le progrès pour but" ("Love as a principle and order as the basis; progress as the goal"). Comte also influenced the Young Turks political movement. There are more examples of Religion of Humanity started by positivists, and there are several authors who have given
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#1732766125618902-456: The day that begins at that sunset is the 30th. The tabular Islamic calendar , used in Iran, has 12 lunar months that usually alternate between 30 and 29 days every year, but an intercalary day is added to the last month of the year 12 times in a 33-year cycle. Some historians also linked the pre-Islamic practice of Nasi' to intercalation. The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service can insert or remove leap seconds from
943-502: The emergence of ethical societies and "ethical churches", which led to the development of Ethical culture, congregational humanist , and secular humanist organisations. Comte developed the Religion of Humanity for positivist societies in order to fulfill the cohesive function once held by traditional worship. The religion was developed after Comte's passionate platonic relationship with Clotilde de Vaux , whom he idealised after her death. He became convinced that feminine values embodied
984-432: The epithet to the religion they support, whatever the religion. In India Baba Faqir Chand established Manavta Mandir (Temple of Humanity) to spread his religion of humanity with scientific attitude as explained by David C. Lane in a book The Unknowing Sage . Comte influenced the thought of Victorian secularists George Holyoake (coiner of the term " secularism ") and Richard Congreve . Rousseau 's religion of humanity
1025-757: The first president of the IFCL. The League opened offices in London and later in Rochester, New York . George Eastman , of the Eastman Kodak Company , became a fervent supporter of the IFC, and instituted its use at Kodak. Some organized opposition to the proposed reform came from rabbi Joseph Hertz , who objected to the way that the Jewish Sabbath would move throughout the week. The International Fixed Calendar League ceased operations shortly after
1066-505: The following day would be New Year's Day and a Sunday also, he called it a Double Sunday. Since Cotsworth's goal was a simplified, more "rational" calendar for business and industry, he would carry over all the features of the Gregorian calendar consistent with this goal, including the traditional month names, the week beginning on Sunday (still traditionally used in US, but uncommon in Europe and in
1107-471: The last day of any month (June and December are preferred). These are sometimes described as intercalary. ISO 8601 includes a specification for a 52/53-week year. Any year that has 53 Thursdays has 53 weeks; this extra week may be regarded as intercalary. The xiuhpōhualli (year count) system of the Aztec calendar had five intercalary days after the eighteenth and final month, the nēmontēmi , in which
1148-607: The last month ( علاء , ʿalāʾ ) to ensure that the following year starts on the March equinox . These are known as the Ayyám-i-Há . The solar year does not have a whole number of lunar months (it is about 365/29.5 = 12.37 lunations ), so a lunisolar calendar must have a variable number of months per year. Regular years have 12 months, but embolismic years insert a 13th "intercalary" or "leap" month or "embolismic" month every second or third year. Whether to insert an intercalary month in
1189-415: The middle of the 18th century. Versions of the idea differ mainly on how the months are named, and the treatment of the extra day in leap year. The "Georgian calendar" was proposed in 1745 by Reverend Hugh Jones , an American colonist from Maryland writing under the pen name Hirossa Ap-Iccim. The author named the plan, and the thirteenth month, after King George II of Great Britain . The 365th day each year
1230-558: The people fasted and reflected on the past year. Religion of Humanity Religion of Humanity (from French Religion de l'Humanité or église positiviste ) is a secular religion created by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), the founder of positivist philosophy. Adherents of this religion have built chapels of Humanity in France and Brazil . In the United States and Europe, Comte's ideas influenced others, and contributed to
1271-583: The pharaoh Ptolemy III Euergetes of Ancient Egypt in 239 BC, decreed a solar leap day system; an Egyptian leap year was not adopted until 25 BC, when the Roman Emperor Augustus instituted a reformed Alexandrian calendar . In the Julian calendar , as well as in the Gregorian calendar , which improved upon it, intercalation is done by adding an extra day to February in each leap year. In
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1312-445: The proliferation of various Secular Humanist organizations in the 19th century, especially through the work of secularists such as George Holyoake and Richard Congreve . Although Comte's English followers, including George Eliot and Harriet Martineau , for the most part rejected the full panoply of his system, they liked the idea of a religion of humanity and his injunction to "vivre pour altrui" ("live for others", from which comes
1353-492: The religion was to increase altruism, so that believers acted always in the best interests of humanity as a whole. The priests would be international ambassadors of altruism, teaching, arbitrating in industrial and political disputes, and directing public opinion. They should be scholars, physicians, poets and artists. Indeed all the arts, including dancing and singing should be practiced by them, like bards in ancient societies. This required long training. They began training from
1394-404: The same as those of the Gregorian calendar, except that the extra month is inserted between June and July, and called Sol . Situated in mid-summer (from the point of view of its Northern Hemisphere authors) and including the mid-year solstice , the name of the new month was chosen in homage to the sun. Leap years in the International Fixed Calendar contain 366 days, and its occurrence follows
1435-412: The seasons, and the motion of the moon is astronomically predictable. But religious lunar calendars rely on actual observation. The Lunar Hijri calendar , the purely lunar calendar observed by most of Islam, depends on actual observation of the first crescent of the moon and thus has no intercalation. Each month still has either 29 or 30 days, but due to the variable method of observations employed, there
1476-411: The triumph of sentiment and morality. In a future science-based Positivist society there should also be a religion that would have power by virtue of moral force alone. In 1849, he proposed a calendar reform called the " positivist calendar ", in which months were named after history's greatest leaders, thinkers, and artists, and arranged in chronological order. Each day was dedicated to a thinker. While
1517-582: The word " altruism "). Profound criticism came from John Stuart Mill who advocated Comte but dismissed his Religion of Humanity in a move towards a differentiation between the (good) early Comte, the author of The Course in Positive Philosophy and the (problematic) late Comte, who authored the Religion of Humanity. While sympathising with the need for a secular religion , and appreciating Comte's respect for “the Human Race, conceived as
1558-474: The year were likewise dedicated to "saints" in the Positivist Religion of Humanity . Positivist weeks, months, and years begin with Monday instead of Sunday. Comte also reset the year number, beginning the era of his calendar (year 1) with the Gregorian year 1789. For the extra days of the year not belonging to any week or month, Comte followed the pattern of Ap-Iccim (Jones), ending each year with
1599-636: The younger William Beveridge laid the foundations for the welfare state in Britain with a major report, precipitating the creation of the National Health Service . Comtean Positivism was relatively popular in Brazil. In 1881 Miguel Lemos and Raimundo Teixeira Mendes organized the "Positivist Church of Brazil." In 1897 the "Temple of Humanity" was created. The services at the Temple could go on for up to four hours and that, combined with
1640-523: Was described by Thomas Huxley as "Catholicism minus Christianity". In addition to a holy trinity of Humanity, the Earth and Destiny, it had a priesthood. Priests were required to be married, because of the ennobling influence of womanhood. They would conduct services, including Positivist prayer, which was "a solemn out-pouring, whether in private or in public, of men's nobler feelings, inspiring them with larger and more comprehensive thoughts." The purpose of
1681-611: Was to be set aside as Christmas. The treatment of leap year varied from the Gregorian rule, however, and the year would begin closer to the winter solstice . In a later version of the plan, published in 1753, the 13 months were all renamed for Christian saints. In 1849 the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857) proposed the 13-month Positivist Calendar , naming the months: Moses , Homer , Aristotle , Archimedes , Caesar , St Paul , Charlemagne , Dante , Gutenberg , Shakespeare , Descartes , Frederic and Bichat . The days of