Standard time
Standard time is the synchronization of clocks within a geographical region to a single time standard, rather than a local mean time standard. Generally, standard time agrees with the local mean time at some meridian that passes through the region, often near the centre of the region. Historically, standard time was established during the 19th century to aid weather forecasting and train travel. Applied globally in the 20th century, the geographical regions became time zones. The standard time in each time zone has come to be defined as an offset from Universal Time. A further offset is applied for part of the year in regions with daylight saving time.
The adoption of standard time, because of the inseparable correspondence between longitude and time, solidified the concept of halving the globe into the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, with one Prime Meridian replacing the various prime meridians that had previously been used.
History of standard time
During the 19th century, scheduled steamships and trains required time standardisation in the industrialized world.
Great Britain
A standardised time system was first used by British
North America
Until 1883, each United States railroad chose its own time standards. The
However, almost all railroads out of New York ran on New York time, and railroads west from Chicago mostly used Chicago time, but between Chicago and Pittsburgh/Buffalo the norm was Columbus time, even on railroads such as the PFtW&C and
In 1870,
The members agreed that on Sunday, November 18, 1883, all United States and Canadian railroads would readjust their clocks and watches to reflect the new five-zone system on a telegraph signal from the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh at exactly noon on the 90th meridian.[8][9][10] Although most railroads adopted the new system as scheduled, some did so early on October 7 and others late on December 2. The Intercolonial Railway serving the Canadian maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia just east of Maine decided not to adopt Intercolonial Time based on the 60th meridian west of Greenwich, instead adopting Eastern Time, so only four time zones were actually adopted by U.S./Canadian railroads in 1883.[9] Major American observatories, including the Allegheny Observatory, the United States Naval Observatory, the Harvard College Observatory, and the Yale University Observatory, agreed to provide telegraphic time signals at noon Eastern Time.[9][10]
Standard time was not enacted into US law until the
In 1999, standard time was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame in the category "National: Technical Innovations."[14]
The
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, introduction of the
The shift to the current Central European Time zone took place on 16 May 1940. The German occupiers ordered the clock to be moved an hour and forty minutes forward. This time was kept in summer and winter throughout 1941 and 1942. It was only in November 1942 that a different Winter time was introduced, and the time was adjusted one hour backwards. This lasted for only three years; after the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945, Summer time was abolished for over thirty years, so during those years, standard time was 40 minutes ahead of the original Amsterdam Time. As of 2017, the Netherlands is in line with Central European Time (GMT+1 in the winter, GMT+2 in the summer, which is significantly different from Amsterdam Time).
New Zealand
In 1868, New Zealand was the first country in the world to establish a nationwide standard time.[15]
A
The director of the Geological Survey, James Hector, selected New Zealand time to be at the meridian 172°30′E. This was very close to the country's mean longitude and exactly 11+1⁄2 hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time. It came into effect on 2 November 1868.
For over fifty years, the Colonial Time Service Observatory in Wellington, determined the correct time each morning. At 9 a.m. each day, it was transmitted by Morse code to post offices and railway stations around the country. In 1920, radio time signals began broadcasting, greatly increasing the accuracy of the time nationwide.
See also
- Daylight saving time
- International Meridian Conference of 1884
- Mecca Time
- Time standard
- Time zone
- Universal Time
References
- ^ Walcott, Charles Doolittle (1912). Biographical Memoir of Samuel Pierpont Langley, 1834–1906. National Academy of Sciences. p. 248. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ Butowsky, Harry (1989). "Allegheny Observatory". Astronomy and Astrophysics. National Park Service. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ October 1883 Travelers Official Guide
- ^ Charles F. Dowd, A.M., Ph.D.; a narrative of his services ..., ed. Charles North Dowd, (New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1930)
- ^ "Sir Sandford Fleming 1827–1915" (PDF). Ontario Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ Edmund P. Willis & William H. Hooke (11 May 2009). "Cleveland Abbe and American Meteorology: 1871–1901". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "Standard time system plaque". Flickr. 15 December 2005.
- ^ Parkinson, J. Robert (February 15, 2004). "When it comes to time zones in the United States, it's all business". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 25, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ a b c W. F. Allen, "History of the movement by which the adoption of standard time was consummated", Proceedings of the American Metrological Society 4 (1884) 25–50, Appendix 50–89. Hathi Trust Digital Library.
- ^ a b Michael O'Malley, Keeping Watch: A History of American Time (NY 1990) chapter three
- ^ "Time Zones of the United States". US Department of the Interior. January 27, 2011. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- ^ Congressional Research Service. (2007). "Daylight Saving Time". (Report RS22284)). Originally published by wikileaks.
- ^ 21st Century Competitiveness Act of 2007, Section 3013. H.R. 2272: 110th CONGRESS House Bills, January 4, 2007.
- ^ North America Railway Hall of Fame: Inductee – Standard Time | Standard Time inducted into North America Railway Hall of Fame, 1999
- ^ Phillips, Jock. "Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – Timekeeping". www.teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
Further reading
- Ian R. Bartky (January 1989). "The adoption of standard time". Technology and Culture. 30 (1): 25–56. S2CID 111724161.
- S2CID 144994119.
- "World Time Scales". National Institute of Standards and Technology Physics Laboratory. 2002. Archived from the original on July 29, 1997.