History Of Daylight Savings

Well we are just a few days away from Daylight Savings ending -- November 2.

I pulled the following info off the US Naval Observatory website. I thought it would make for interesting reading for you.

Here is the link or you can read the info below.

Standard time zones were instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads in 1883, but were not established into U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act.

The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then.

Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law. Daylight time became a local matter.

It was re-established nationally early in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945. After the war its use varied among states and localities.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance.

The act provided that daylight time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

During the "energy crisis" years, Congress enacted earlier starting dates for daylight time.

In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it began on 23 February. After those two years the starting date reverted back to the last Sunday in April.

In 1986, a law was passed that shifted the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. The ending date of daylight time was not subject to such changes, and remained the last Sunday in October.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed both the starting and ending dates. Beginning in 2007, daylight time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.