From Time and Date.com:
"Daylight Savings Time"
What Is Daylight Saving Time?
DST is a seasonal time change measure where clocks are set ahead of standard time during part of the year, usually by 1 hour. As DST starts, the Sun rises and sets later, on the clock, than the day before.
Today, about 40% of countries worldwide use it to make better use of daylight and to conserve energy.
First Used in Canada in 1908
While Germany and Austria were the first countries to use DST in 1916, it is a little-known fact that a few hundred Canadians beat the German Empire by 8 years. On July 1, 1908, the residents of Port Arthur, Ontario, today's Thunder Bay, turned their clocks forward by 1 hour to start the world's first DST period. Other locations in Canada soon followed suit. On April 23, 1914, Regina in Saskatchewan implemented DST. The cities of Winnipeg and Brandon in Manitoba did so on April 24, 1916. According to the April 3, 1916, edition of the Manitoba Free Press, Daylight Saving Time in Regina “proved so popular that bylaw now brings it into effect automatically”.
Germany Popularized DST
However, the idea did not catch on globally until Germany introduced DST in 1916. Clocks in the German Empire, and its ally Austria, were turned ahead by 1 hour on April 30, 1916—2 years into World War I. The rationale was to minimize the use of artificial lighting to save fuel for the war effort. Within a few weeks, the idea was followed by the United Kingdom, France, and many other countries. Most of them reverted to standard time after World War I, and it wasn’t until the next World War that DST made its return in most of Europe.
Who Invented DST?
If you think Daylight Saving Time is a good idea, thank New Zealand scientist George Vernon Hudson and British builder William Willett. In 1895, Hudson presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society, proposing a 2-hour shift forward in October and a 2-hour shift back in March. There was interest in the idea, but it was never followed through. In 1905, independently from Hudson, British builder William Willett suggested setting the clocks ahead 20 minutes on each of the 4 Sundays in April, and switching them back by the same amount on each of the 4 Sundays in September, a total of 8 time switches per year.
First Daylight Saving Bill
Willett’s Daylight Saving plan caught the attention of the British Member of Parliament Robert Pearce who introduced a bill to the House of Commons in February 1908. The first Daylight Saving Bill was drafted in 1909, presented to Parliament several times and examined by a select committee. However, the idea was opposed by many, especially farmers, so the bill was never made into a law. Willett died in 1915, the year before the United Kingdom started using DST in May 1916. It is not known if he was aware that his idea had become a reality 7 years prior to his death in a small town in Ontario.
Benjamin Franklin, the Father of DST?
Many sources also credit Benjamin Franklin with being the first to suggest seasonal time change. However, the idea voiced by the American inventor and politician in 1784 can hardly be described as fundamental for the development of modern DST. After all, it did not even involve turning the clocks. In a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris, which was entitled “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light”, Franklin simply suggested that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning. What's more: Franklin meant it as a joke.
An Ancient Idea
Although modern DST has only been used for about 100 years, ancient civilizations are known to have engaged in comparable practices thousands of years ago. For example, the Roman water clocks used different scales for different months of the year to adjust the daily schedules to the solar time.
Daylight Saving Today
Daylight Saving Time is now used in over 70 countries worldwide and affects over 1 billion people every year. The beginning and end dates vary from one country to another.
Daylight Savings Time in the USA
March to November
The DST period in the United States begins each year on the 2nd Sunday in March, when clocks are set forward by 1 hour. They are turned back again to standard time on the 1st Sunday in November as DST ends.
Not All Areas Use DST
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gives every state or territory the right to opt out of using DST. In the contiguous US, only Arizona currently exercises that right. Clocks in most of the state, including its capital, Phoenix, remain on Mountain Standard Time (MST) all year. The only exception is the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, which follows DST to stay in sync with the parts of its territory extending into Utah and New Mexico—both states observe DST.
Other parts of the USA that do not follow DST are Hawaii and all of the country's external territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.
In 2006, the state of Indiana, after having abstained from changing its clocks since 1970, decided to join the national DST regime.
Synchronized but Not Simultaneous
Daylight Saving Time in the United States is synchronized. By law, all areas taking part in the DST switch must do so on the same dates and at the same local time. All clock changes occur at 02:00 (2 am). In the spring, clocks are set forward to 03:00 (3 am); in the fall, they are turned backward to 01:00 (1 am).
However, since the United States spans several time zones, the clock changes, while occurring at the same local time in each time zone, do not happen simultaneously. Eastern time zones switch earlier than western time zones. For example, each DST change happens 3 hours earlier in New York than in Los Angeles. In Europe, it's the other way around: The continent begins and ends its DST periods at 01:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This means that each switch occurs at the same moment across Europe—but at different local times.
History: When Did DST Start in the USA?
In 1916, during World War I, Germany became the first country to adopt DST to save energy for the war effort. Many countries across Europe soon followed suit. In the US, “Fast Time”, as it was called then, was first introduced in 1918. The initiative was sparked by Robert Garland, a Pittsburgh industrialist who had encountered the idea in the United Kingdom.
Only 7 months later, DST was repealed. However, some cities, including Pittsburgh, Boston, and New York, continued to use it.
“War Time” and “Peace Time”
In 1942, at the height of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reintroduced the measure, instituting year-round Daylight Saving Time in the United States. Referred to as “War Time”, DST was in force continuously from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.
During this time, the US time zones were called “Eastern War Time”, “Mountain War Time”, “Central War Time”, and “Pacific War Time”. After the surrender of Japan in mid-August 1945, the time zones were relabeled “Peace Time”.
Uniform Time Act of 1966
From 1945 to 1966, there were no uniform rules for DST in the US. This caused widespread confusion, especially for trains, buses, and the broadcasting industry. As a result, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 was established. While granting US states the ability to opt out of DST, the law provided a framework for a nation-wide, synchronized DST schedule, starting on the last Sunday of April and ending on the last Sunday of October.
DST During the 1973 Oil Embargo
During the 1973 oil embargo, the US Congress ordered a year-round DST period lasting from January 1974 to April 1975. The rationale was to study the effects of seasonal time change on energy consumption. Following staunch opposition from the public and the realization that the measure yielded only modest energy savings, the plan was soon amended to allow for a return to standard time during the winter months.
Energy Policy Act of 2005
After the energy crisis was over in 1976, the DST schedule in the US was revised several times throughout the years. From 1987 to 2006, the country observed DST for about 7 months each year. The current schedule was introduced by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and has been followed since 2007.
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