Julius Caesar took control over the chaotic Roman calendar,
which was being exploited by politicians and others with the
haphazard addition of days or months. It was a calendar horribly
out-of-synch with the seasons of the earth, which are the result
of the rotation of the earth around the sun. Caesar developed a
new calendar of 364 1/4 days, closely approximating the length
of the tropical year (the time it takes the earth to go around
the sun from the beginning of spring to the beginning of
spring). Caesar's calendar was normally 365 days long but
included an extra day (a leap day) every four years to account
for the extra one-quarter of a day. The intercalary (inserted
into the calendar) day was added prior to February 25 each year.
Unfortunately, while Caesar's calendar was almost accurate, it
wasn't quite accurate enough because the tropical year is not
365 days and 6 hours (365.25 days), but is approximately 365
days 5 hours 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (365.242199 days).
Therefore, the calendar of Julius