Under the terms of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar, skipping 11 days of the month.
Calendar (New Style) Act 1750
The Calendar Act 1750, also known as Chesterfield's Act or the British Calendar Act of 1751, is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its purpose was for Great Britain and the British Empire to adopt the Gregorian calendar. The Act also changed the start of the legal year from 25 March to 1 January.
Adoption of the Gregorian calendar
The adoption of the Gregorian Calendar has taken place in the history of most cultures and societies around the world, marking a change from one of various traditional dating systems to the contemporary system – the Gregorian calendar – which is widely used around the world today. Some states adopted the new calendar in 1582, others not before the early twentieth century, and others at various dates between. A few have yet to do so, but except for these, the Gregorian calendar is now the world's universal civil calendar, old style calendars remaining in use in religious or traditional contexts. During – and for some time after – the transition between systems, it has been common to use the terms "Old Style" and "New Style" when giving dates, to indicate which calendar was used to reckon them.