August
is the eighth month
of the year
in the Julian
and
Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.
In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of
February in the Northern Hemisphere. In common years no other month
starts on the same day of the week as August, though in leap years
February starts on the same day. August ends on the same day of the
week as November every year. This month was originally named Sextilis
in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month
Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first
month of the year. About 700 BC it became the eighth month when
January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa
Pompilius, who also
gave it 29 days. Julius
Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC
giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC it was renamed in
honor of Augustus.(Despite common belief, he did not take a day from
February; see the debunked theory on month lengths) According to a
Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because
it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the
conquest of Egypt.
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