Posted by Sheridan Williams at 14:02 on 2010 Feb 17
As regular Forum readers will be aware, I occasionally post something I’ve found in early BAA Journals. Here’s one from the April 1934 Journal:NO FULL MOON IN FEBRUARY 1934.Dr. Crommelin’s reference (page 174 of the Journal) to the average period of about 22 years between occurrences of a February without a Full Moon, will have been noticed by members. It is difficult to say what has been the cause of the opinion held by some that such a February is extremely scarce, beyond, of course, the shortness of the month; but our member, Mr. T. H. L. Hony, has learnt of a rather extreme case of the belief in question. Following on some correspondence in the Sunday Times to which Mr. Hony had contributed, he received a letter from a Dublin correspondent stating that there had been in the possession of the writer’s family for many years a brass plate on which engraved: " that the month of February, 1866, was one of the most remarkable inasmuch as it had no full moon. January had two full moons, and so had March, but February had none, This has not occurred since the creation of the world, and it will never occur again."