Daylight Saving Time: Who Thought it Up?

Daylight saving time- spring forward by setting your clocks ahead an hour on Saturday night, March 12, 2011.  My questions is "how did it all get started" and "why do it at all".

In 1784, Benjamin Franklin lightheartedly suggested the idea to a Paris newspaper to conserve candles.

In Britain, builder William Willett, who adored early morning horseback rides, began fighting for it in 1905 but he died before his efforts were rewarded, said Bryner and David Prerau in his book “Seize the Day: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time.”


Germany was the first to introduce it, during World War I. Britain and the United States followed.  President Lyndon Johnson signed the widespread practice into law in 1966, although individual states  have the ability to opt out. President George W. Bush extended daylight saving time four weeks beginning in 2007.  Now, about 70 countries have some form of it, covering more than 1 billion people.

If you're worried about losing that hour, just remember it isn't permanent. Daylight saving ends Nov. 6, 2011.

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