Date of 12-30-1899 changes to Time of midnight

When I create a shapefile from an Excel spreadsheet using the "Create Feature Class - From XY Data" function in ArcCatalog, any date listed as 12-30-1899 is automatically changed to a time of 12:00:00 AM. When I edit the table in ArcMap to correct the problem, it continues to default to midnight instead of December 30, 1899.

This error occurs in both ArcMap 10 and 10.1. I have not tried any earlier versions.

Any idea why this happens, or how to fix it?

Thanks,
April