The British Parliament introduced Daylight Savings in 1915.
The British Parliament introduced Daylight Savings in 1915. It was a result of a campaign by William Willett, who was an English builder and politician. He came up with the idea after he returned from a trip to New Zealand, where he saw that daylight savings time helped farmers there. In 1907, Willett published a pamphlet called “The Waste of Daylight” which outlined his proposal for two-hour time shifts in spring and fall. He argued that this would reduce lighting costs and allow people to enjoy more daylight hours during the summer.
In 1908, Willett presented his idea to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. This society then passed it on to the government, but it wasn’t taken seriously at first. In fact, it took five years before Parliament even responded to Willett’s proposal.
Willett died in 1915 at age 80 without seeing his idea become law. But just one year later, Parliament passed an act establishing standard time zones across Britain.