| 46 B.C.E. |
Julius Caesar introduces the Julian
calendar.
" It has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months, and a
leap day is added every four years, hence the average Julian year is 365.25
days. The calendar remained in use into the 20th century in some countries
and is still used by many national Orthodox churches. However with this
scheme too many leap days are added with respect to the astronomical seasons,
which on average occur earlier in the calendar by about 11 minutes per
year, causing it to gain a day about every 128 years. It is said that Caesar
was aware of the discrepancy, but felt it was of little importance."
Caesar plans to establish a public library to equal or supass the one
at Alexandria. He appoints Terntius Varro, a noted scholar and book collector,
to gather copies of the best-known literature for a Roman public library.
However these plans are shelved when Caesar is assassinated in 44 BCE. |
| 42 - 19 B.C.E. |
Publius
Vergilius Maro composes the Ecologues,
the Georgics, and dies before the Aeneid is
complete. |
| 37 B.C.E. |
"G. Asinius Pollio, who had amassed
a fortune in his conquest of Dalmatia, used his wealth to consolidate several
collections already in Rome, possibly including those of Varro and Sulla,
to form a library in the Temple of Liberty (Atrium Libertatis) on the Aventine
Hill. Public archives had already been housed there, but Pollio reorganized
the collection, added the libraries he had acquired, and opened the whole
to the public about 37 B.C., making it the first-known public library in
Rome."
(Harris, History of Libraries in the Western World 4th ed. [1999]
57.) |
| 28 B.C.E. |
"Beginning with August, the Roman emperors
took over the task of building libraries in Rome. Actually, Augustus was
responsible for two public libraries. The first, in the Temple of Apollo,
was begun in 36 B.C. and dedicated in 28. B.C. It was divided into two
separate collections, one Greek and one Latin. Pompeius Macer was the first
librarian, and Julius Hyginus, a noted grammarian, also served in that
capacity. Later enlarged by the Emperors Tiberius and Caligula, this library
on the Palatine Hill was one of the two major libraries in Rome for several
hundred years. It was damaged at least twice by fires but survived well
into the 4th century. The second Augustan library was in the Porticus Octaviae,
a magnificent structure built in honor of Octavia, the Emperor's sister..
. Caius Melissus was the first librarian for this collection, housed in
chambers over a promenade. Although damaged by fire in the reign of Titus
about 80 A.D., the Octavian Library probably surived into the 2nd century."
(Harris, History of Libraries in the Western World 4th ed. [1999] 57.) |
| 2 C.E. |
The first census of
which records are preserved is taken in China during the Han
Dynasty. At that time there are 57.5 million people living in Han China--
the world's largest population. |
