For centuries, time was measured by the position of the sun with the use of sundials. Noon was recognized when the sun was the highest in the sky, and cities would set their clock by this apparent 1 time, even though some cities would often be on a slightly different time. Daylight Saving Time (DST), sometimes called summer time, was 2 to make better use of daylight. Thus, clocks are set forward one hour in the spring to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening and then set back one hour in the fall to return to 3 daylight.
Benjamin Franklin first conceived the idea of daylight saving during his term as an American delegate in Paris in 1784 and wrote about it 4 in his essay, “An Economical Project.” It is said that Franklin awoke early one morning and was surprised to see the sunlight at such an hour. Always the 5, Franklin believed the practice of moving the time could save on the use of candlelight, as candles were expensive at the time.
In England, builder William Willett (1857–1915) became a strong supporter for Daylight Saving Time upon noticing blinds(百叶窗) of many houses were 6 on an early sunny morning. Willet believed everyone, including himself, would appreciate longer hours of light in the evenings. In 1909, Sir Robert Pearce 7 a bill in the House of Commons to make it obligatory(义务) to 8 the clocks. A bill was drafted and introduced into Parliament several times but met with great opposition, mostly from farmers. 9, in 1925, it was decided that summer time should begin on the day following the third Saturday in April and close after the first Saturday in October.
The U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act of 1918 to establish standard time and 10 and set Daylight Saving Time across the continent. This act also devised(制定) five time 11 throughout the United States: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, and Alaska. The first time zone was set on “the mean astronomical time of the seventy-fifth degree of longitude west from Greenwich” (England). In 1919, this act was abandoned.
President Roosevelt established year-round Daylight Saving Time (also called War Time) from 1942–1945. However, after this period, each state 12 its own DST, which proved to be 13 to television and radio broadcasting and transportation. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson created the Department of Transportation and signed the Uniform Time Act. As a result, the Department of Transportation was given the responsibility for the time laws. During the oil embargo(禁运) and energy crisis of the 1970s, President Richard Nixon 14 DST through the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act of 1973 to conserve energy further. This law was 15 in 1986, and Daylight Saving Time was reset to begin on the first Sunday in April (to spring ahead) and end on the last Sunday in October (to fall back).
