The History of Daylight Saving Time

Brogan Gerhart

In the U.S., Daylight Saving Time was first introduced in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law to support the war effort during World War I. The initiative was sparked by a Pittsburgh industrialist named Robert Garland, who had encountered the idea in the United Kingdom.

Germany was the first country to implement DST. Clocks there were first turned forward at 11:00 p.m. (23:00) on April 30, 1916. It was put into effect to minimize the use of artificial lighting in order to save fuel for the war effort during World War I. The idea was quickly followed by Britain and many other countries, including the United States. Many countries reverted back to standard time post-World War I. It wasn’t until the next World War that DST made its return in many countries in order to save vital energy resources for the war.

There are a few common misconceptions of daylight saving time. Not everyone in the United States springs forward and falls back. Hawaii and most parts of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands also remain on standard time year-round. Some Amish communities also choose not to participate in daylight saving time. (Only about one-quarter of the world’s population, in approximately 70 countries, observe daylight saving. Since their daylight hours don’t vary much from season to season, countries closer to the equator have little need to diverge from standard time.)

Daylight saving time in the United States was not intended to benefit farmers, as many people think; in fact, the agriculture industry was deeply opposed to the time switch when it was first implemented on March 31, 1918, as a wartime measure. The sun, not the clock, dictated farmers’ schedules, so daylight saving was very disruptive. Farmers had to wait an extra hour for dew to evaporate to harvest hay, hired hands worked less since they still left at the same time for dinner and cows weren’t ready to be milked an hour earlier to meet shipping schedules.

Well, there you have it. Hopefully you learned a little bit more about the history of daylight saving time and why our nation practices it. Now you can have something to ponder as you enjoy your beautiful, late-night sunsets.