Almanac
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Almanac. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a table or calendar of days, giving, together with the day of the week and month, such information as the time of the rising and setting of the sun, the phases of the moon, holidays, fast and feast days, and days to be observed by church and state. Calendars of some sort, called fasti, were in vogue among the Romans, and were posted later in the forum for the information of the public. English almanacs, consisting of a square wooden stick about eight inches long, notched along the edges to represent the days and months of the year,--three months on each edge,--were used in England as late as Cromwell's day. Each seventh day was notched deeply to represent the Sabbath. The first day of each month was designated by a broad notch. Saints' days and festivals were marked by colored figures, St. Valentine's day by a true lover's knot, etc. Manuscript almanacs of the twelfth century, one ascribed to Roger Bacon, are preserved in the British Museum and in the libraries of Oxford and Cambridge. Originally almanacs were intended for the guidance of the people in the performance of religious duties. From an early date they foretold eclipses and presaged weather, war, and pestilence, and were filled with superstitions and broad jokes. In modern times a decided tendency to supply useful information and statistics may be noted. An almanac published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge set an excellent example in 1828, which has been followed very generally since. The Edinburgh, the British, and Whitaker's Almanac are well known abroad. The Almanach de Gotha, 1764, printed in French and German, gives details of the princely families of Europe, and various other details and statistics for each country in the world. A nautical almanac published two or three years in advance by the British government is invaluable to the navigator who requires a knowledge of tides and the positions of stars at certain hours, from which to take his reckoning at sea. A similar publication is issued by the United States bureau of navigation. The first American almanac was published by Wm. Pierce of Cambridge in 1639. Poor Richard's Almanac, published by Benjamin Franklin at Philadelphia, is our most noted publication of the kind. Several prominent newspapers, as the New York World and the New York Tribune, publish almanacs containing a large amount of current and attractive information. The almanacs published for free distribution by makers of patent medicines are characteristic of American business sagacity. One Lowell firm is said to distribute 25,000,000 copies yearly. In France during the Revolutionary period, the National Convention enacted in November of 1793 that the year should be divided into twelve months of thirty days each with five days of merry-making at the end of each year. The new calendar was dated back to September 22, 1792, the day on which the new republic took form. This calendar was followed for about eight years until abolished by order of Napoleon. The names of the months were as follows: October, Vendemiaire, vintage month. November, Brumaire, foggy month. December, Frimaire, sleet month. January, Nivose, snowy month. February, Pluviose, rainy month. March, Ventose, windy month. April, Germinal, bud month. May, Floreal, flower month. June, Prairial, meadow month. July, Messidor, harvest month. August, Thermidor, heat month. September, Fructidor, fruit month. Among the odd suggestions may be mentioned that of August Compte, 1849, who proposed that the months bear the names of great men as Moses, Caesar, Shakespeare, and St. Paul; and further that each day of the year be known by the name of some noted person as well. Dates thus written would be Romulus, 1905, Socrates, 1872, or such a battle was fought on Plato, 1863. See Calendar ; Year ; Month 2026 Editor's Note: The almanac was early America's second book after the Bible — and one survives in glory: The Old Farmer's Almanac , published continuously since 1792, still sells millions with weather forecasts, planting tables and folklore, now beside the phone apps that replaced its daily use. (Ed: BR 2026-06-24)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
an annual compilation, based on the calendar, embracing information pertinent to the various days of the year, the seasons, etc., with astronomical calculations and miscellaneous intelligence. Before the invention of printing was no satisfactory method of distributing to the public systematically arranged information about the calendar for the year and the forthcoming astronomical phenomena; but different ingenious devices were employed by the most celebrated people. One of the of these was the so-called clog almanac, a four-sided stick of wood, upon which the Sundays and other fixed days were notched, and the characters were inscribed to distinguish them. The oldest printed almanac is attributed to George von Purbach, of Vienna, in the middle of the 15th century, and entitled "Pro Annis Pluribus." King Matthias Corvinus employed Johann Regiomontanus, in 1474, to compile an almanac, was printed in Latin and in German. Almanacs were issued by a printer named Engel beginning with the year 1491. Stöfler, Tübingen, published almanacs at irregular intervals. Yearly almanacs were printed somewhere in the course of the 16th century. In the 17th century all sorts of astrological and meteorological information and other kinds of news were published in the almanacs and took the place, in a measure, of the newspaper of to-day. The "Almanach Royal," which began to be published in 1679 in Paris, contained notices in regard to posts, court festivals, masses, markets, etc. In 1699 the genealogy of the royal house and enumeration of the higher clergy were added. This form of almanac was imitated in Prussia in 1700, in Saxony in 1728, and, under the title of "Royal Almanac," in England in 1730. Shortly afterward almanacs prepared for the people began to appear, containing, instead of official information, short stories, anecdotes, poems, and all sorts of information. In England, King James I. gave the monopoly of almanac printing to the Universities and the Stationers' Company, but the former were no more than sleeping partners in the concern. The first American almanac was that of William Pierce, of Cambridge, published in 1639. The most famous of American almanacs was "Poor Richard's," published in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin klin under the pseudonym of Richard Saunders. Some of the almanacs that are regularly published every year are extremely useful, and are indeed almost indispensable to men engaged in official, mercantile, literary, or professional business. Such in Great Britain are Thom's "Official Directory of the United Kingdom," the "British Almanac" with its "Companion," Oliver & Boyd's "Edinburgh Almanac," and Whitaker's "Almanac." In the United States "The American Almanac" appeared between 1830-1861, and nd publication under the same a second name was edited for several years by Ainsworth R. Spofford. Several of the largest newspapers in the United States now issue almanacs which are marvels of condensed information. The "Almanach de Gotha," which has appeared at Gotha since 1764, contains in small bulk a wonderful quantity of information regarding the reigning families and governments, the finances, commerce, populations, etc., of the different states throughout the world. It is published both in a French and in a German edition. "The Nautical Almanac" is an important work published annually by the British Government, two or three years in advance, in which is contained much useful astronomical matter. This almanac was commenced in 1767 by Dr. Nevil Maskelyne, astronomer royal. The French "Connaissance des Temps" is published with the same views as the English "Nautical Almanac," and nearly on the same plan. It commenced in 1679. Of a similar character is the "Astronomisches Jahrbuch," published at Berlin. The "American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac" is issued annually since 1855 by the Bureau of Navigation of the United States.