Time Change: The History Of Daylight Savings Time
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of moving clocks forward one hour in spring and back one hour in fall to make better use of daylight during the warmer months. In 2025, DST starts March 9 and ends Nov. 2. But how did this peculiar time shift come to be?
Why did Daylight Saving Time begin in the U.S.?
According to the Library of Congress Blogs, DST was first introduced more than 100 years ago, during World War I, as a way to conserve fuel and energy. By shifting the clocks forward, people could make better use of natural daylight, thereby reducing the need for artificial lighting. The extra daylight allowed for longer workdays and helped reduce energy consumption.
On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the first federal daylight saving time law, titled An Act to Save Daylight and to Provide Standard Time for the United States—now known as The Standard Time Act of 1918— which not only established this practice, but also divided the country into four time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific, and Standard Alaska Time. The law stated that every year, on the last Sunday in March, clocks would be moved forward by one hour, and on the last Sunday in October, they would be set back by one hour.
The concept of daylight saving time was originally proposed by George Vernon Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist who worked for the post office. In 1895, he presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society advocating for a seasonal time change to provide more daylight hours in the evening for his insect research. New Zealand eventually adopted DST in 1927, but legislation had already been put in place for Americans during World War I.
Notably, The Standard Time Act of 1918 lasted only about a year and a half before it was repealed on Aug. 20, 1919, in an act titled An Act for the Repeal of the Daylight Saving Law. President Wilson vetoed the repeal, but Congress passed it anyway. Though daylight saving time was abolished, the standard time zones established by the 1918 law remained in place.
After the end of World War I, Congress repealed DST, but the practice was reintroduced during World War II as part of wartime energy conservation efforts. It was repealed once again in 1945, following the end of the war.
The familiar daylight saving schedule most Americans follow today originated with the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which reintroduced the twice-yearly time change, according to USA Facts. This act standardized the start and end dates of DST across the country, though states were allowed to opt out if they wished.
In 2005, the Energy Policy Act extended DST by a few weeks, beginning on the second Sunday of March and ending on the first Sunday of November. This change was aimed at further conserving energy and reducing electricity usage.
Which states observe Daylight Saving Time?
As of 2025, 48 states and Washington, D.C., observe Daylight Saving Time. However, some states have opted out of the time change. Arizona and Hawaii remain on standard time year-round and do not participate in DST. While states are free to choose whether to observe DST, they cannot permanently adopt daylight saving time without approval from Congress. In fact, 20 states have passed laws or resolutions to make DST permanent, but these laws can only take effect if federal law is changed.
For example, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023, first introduced by Florida Senator Marco Rubio in 2021, aims to make daylight saving time permanent by eliminating the time change that occurs twice a year in March and November. The bill would establish daylight saving time as the new standard time for states that currently observe the time change. Although the act was introduced to the Senate two years ago, it has been read only twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It has not passed into law, as it failed to gain approval in the House of Representatives.
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Time Change: The History Of Daylight Savings Time was originally published on newsone.com
