History Made on March 4, 1915

On this day in 1915 the inventor of daylight savings time passed away. William Willett is often overlooked as the inventor as Benjamin Franklin had discussed the ancient practice of daylight savings time in 1784. Willett first began to think of adjusting the time according to the season while on a early summer morning horse ride. He noticed that homes blinds were still down, the sun was up and people were missing it. In 1907 he used his own money to publish "The Waste of Daylight". Willett proposed advancing the clocks 80 minutes in the summer and then turned back 80 minutes in the fall. This would extend the summer days into the evening using less electricity and extended recreation time. The bill was finally passed in Britain on May 17, 1916 due to the need to conserve coal during WWI. Willett did not live to see its adoption in Britain or any other countries as he passed away in 1915. So now you know who to curse as you set your clocks forward this Saturday night.