Re: reminiscing about...DST

[Bill Piacentini <billpi@ll.mit.edu>]

Dan,
I just happened to be in HotBot(www.hotbot.com) and searched on "Daylight
Savings Time": (I'm afraid Joe's correct.) I also thought the ending
changed. [Oops.. Garrett seems to have beat me...sorry for any duplication]
Although standard time in  time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada
by the railroads in 1883, it was not established in U.S. law until the Act
of March 19,1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act.  The act also
established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then. Daylight saving
time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law.
Daylight time became a local matter.  It was re-established nationally early
in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 20
September 1945.  After the war its use varied among states and localities.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of
beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local
exemptions from its observance.  The act provided that daylight time begin
on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the
changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.
During the "energy crisis" years, Congress enacted earlier STARTING dates
for daylight time.  In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it
began on 23 February.  After those two years the starting date reverted back
to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed permanently shifting
the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning
in 1987.
The ending date of daylight time has NOT been subject to such changes, and
has remained the last Sunday in October.
Source:http://weather.wsmr.army.mil/daylight.htm
At 12:08 PM 5/5/97 +0000, you wrote:
>At 04:54 AM 5/5/97 +0000, you wrote:
>>
>>No, Daylight Savings Time always ended on the last Sunday in October.
>
>Are you POSITIVE? I seem to recall that it was first extended from the end
>of September to the end of October and, much later, the start was moved up.
>I recall protests about how Halloween occurred after the end of DST and it
>would have taken an extension of only one more week to make Halloween occur
>DURING DST. You're saying this didn't happen. Well, I won't swear that it
>did. And if it did, I sure don't know when it happened.
>
>-------------------------------
>Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
>ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
>(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205
>
>
>

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