The Origins of Daylight Saving Time
The concept of adjusting clocks to save daylight has roots stretching back to the 18th century, though the modern practice only began in the 20th century.
Benjamin Franklin's Satirical Proposal (1784)
In 1784, while serving as American ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin wrote a humorous letter to the Journal de Paris suggesting that Parisians could save money on candles by waking up earlier to use natural morning light. His proposal was satirical and never intended as serious policy, but it planted the conceptual seed.
William Willett's Campaign (1907)
The first serious proposal came from British builder William Willett in 1907. An avid golfer, Willett hated cutting his game short due to early sunsets. He self-published a pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight, proposing to advance clocks 20 minutes on each of four Sundays in April and reverse the process in September. Despite campaigning vigorously, Willett died in 1915 without seeing his idea adopted.
World War I: DST Becomes Law
Germany became the first country to officially adopt DST on April 30, 1916, as a wartime measure to conserve coal. The United Kingdom followed weeks later. The United States adopted it in 1918 under the Standard Time Act, which also established the country's five time zones.
After World War I, most countries abandoned DST as impractical. The U.S. repealed its national law in 1919, leaving the decision to states and localities — creating a patchwork of confusion.
World War II and the Cold War Era
DST was reinstated during World War II in many countries. In the United States, "War Time" — year-round DST — was in effect from February 1942 to September 1945. After the war, the U.S. again had no federal standard until 1966.
The Uniform Time Act (1966)
The U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, standardizing DST nationwide: clocks would spring forward on the last Sunday of April and fall back on the last Sunday of October. States could still opt out, which Arizona and Hawaii chose to do.
The 1973 Oil Crisis and Beyond
The 1973 OPEC oil embargo prompted the U.S. to implement year-round DST in 1974 to save energy. The experiment was controversial — children went to school in dangerous darkness — and standard time was restored in 1975.
In 2007, the U.S. extended DST by four weeks: it now begins the second Sunday of March and ends the first Sunday of November. The European Union harmonized its DST schedule in 1996, with all member states transitioning on the same dates.
Recent Trends: Abolition Movements
The early 21st century has seen growing momentum to abolish DST entirely. Russia eliminated it in 2014. The EU voted in 2019 to end mandatory DST but has not yet implemented the change. Several U.S. states have passed legislation for permanent standard or daylight time, pending federal approval.