What's The Story Behind Daylight Saving Time?

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Story Published: Apr 21, 2003 at 9:04 PM PDT

Story Updated: Mar 13, 2008 at 1:13 PM PDT

By Steve Pool

SEATTLE - While Benjamin Franklin first pitched the idea in 1784, it didn't catch on until World War I. The British realized by moving the time the sun set back an hour, they could conserve precious energy during the war. The U.S. tried it in 1918 and 1919, but it was so unpopular, we dumped the idea.

It wasn't until World War II that the idea was tried again in the States. This time, it fared better -- it was saving energy, and crime and traffic accident rates dropped. Congress left it up to individual states to decide if they wanted to keep DST until 1966, when Congress nationalized it to save confusion over who was on DST. The time was set at the last Sunday in April to last Sunday in October. In 1986, President Reagan moved it forward to the first Sunday in April, where it stands today.

For More Information:

www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html

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