Montpelier

Montpelier or Montpellier may refer to:

Locations

Canada

France

Ireland

United Kingdom

United States

Montpelier, Vermont

Montpelier /mɒntˈpiːliər/ is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County, Vermont, in the United States. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of the Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010 census. The city is the smallest state capital by population in the US. The Vermont College of Fine Arts and New England Culinary Institute are located in the city.

History

The first permanent settlement began in May 1787, when Colonel Jacob Davis and General Parley Davis arrived from Charlton, Massachusetts. General Davis surveyed the land, while Colonel Davis cleared forest and erected a large log house on the west side of the North Branch of the Winooski River. His family moved in the following winter.

It was Colonel Davis who selected the name Montpelier after the French city Montpellier. There was a general enthusiasm for things French as a result of the country's aid during the American Revolution. The settlement grew quickly, and by 1791 the population reached 117.

New Year

New Year is the time at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. The New Year of the Gregorian calendar, today mostly in use, falls on 1 January (New Year's Day), as was the case both in the old Roman calendar (at least after about 713 BCE) and in the Julian calendar that succeeded it. The order of months was January to December in the Old Roman calendar during the reign of King Numa Pompilius in about 700 BCE, according to Plutarch and Macrobius, and has been in continuous use since that time. Many countries, such as the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the United States, mark 1 January as a national holiday.

During the Middle Ages in western Europe, while the Julian calendar was still in use, authorities moved New Year's Day variously, depending upon locale, to one of several other days, among them: 1 March, 25 March, Easter, 1 September, and 25 December. These New Year's Day changes generally reverted to using January 1 before or during the various local adoptions of the Gregorian calendar, beginning in 1582. The change from March 25 – Lady Day, one of the four quarter days – to January 1 took place in Scotland in 1600, before the ascension of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England in 1603 and well before the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. In England and Wales (and in all British dominions, including Britain's American colonies), 1751 began on March 25 and lasted 282 days, and 1752 began on January 1. For more information about the changeover from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar and the effect on the dating of historical events etc., see Old Style and New Style dates.