By: HISTORY.com Editors

1942

Daylight saving time instituted

HISTORY.com Editors

Published: November 05, 2009

Last Updated: May 27, 2025

Congress pushes ahead standard time for the United States by one hour in each time zone, imposing daylight saving time—called at the time “war time.”

Daylight Saving Time

While Daylight Savings is fairly harmless today, it's origins lie in one of the most violent episodes of world history.

Daylight saving time, suggested by President Roosevelt, was imposed to conserve fuel and could be traced back to World War I, when Congress imposed one standard time on the United States to enable the country to better utilize resources, following the European model.

The 1918 Standard Time Act was meant to be in effect for only seven months of the year—and was discontinued nationally after the war. But individual states continued to turn clocks ahead one hour in spring and back one hour in fall. The World War II legislation imposed daylight saving time for the entire nation for the entire year. It was repealed on Sept. 30, 1945, when individual states once again imposed their own “standard” time. It was not until 1966 that Congress passed legislation setting a standard time that permanently superseded local habits.

Timeline

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1773

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1825

Presidential election decided in the House of Representatives

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1864

Union general George Custer marries

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1918

Ukraine signs peace treaty with Central Powers

The first peace treaty of World War I is signed when the newly declared independent state of Ukraine officially comes to terms with the Central Powers at 2 a.m. in Berlin, Germany, on February 9, 1918. In the treaty, the Central Powers, which included the governments of Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and Turkey, formally recognized the […]

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1942

The S.S. Normandie catches fire

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1950

Senator McCarthy says communists are in State Department

During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican-Wisconsin) claims that he has a list with the names of over 200 members of the Department of State that are “known communists.” The speech vaulted McCarthy to national prominence and sparked a nationwide hysteria about subversives in the American government. Speaking before the Ohio […]

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1960

Coors brewery heir is kidnapped

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1964

America meets the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show”

At approximately 8:12 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, February 9, 1964, The Ed Sullivan Show returned from a commercial (for Anacin pain reliever), and there was Ed Sullivan standing before a restless crowd. He tried to begin his next introduction, but then stopped and extended his arms in the universal sign for “Settle Down.” “Quiet!” he […]

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1971

Satchel Paige nominated to Baseball Hall of Fame

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1992

Magic Johnson returns for All-Star Game

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1995

Bernard Harris becomes the first Black man to walk in space

NASA astronaut Bernard Harris becomes the first Black man to walk in space. His mission contributes to a burgeoning collaboration between the United States and Russia in space exploration. Bernard Harris stepped out of the space shuttle Discovery in orbit on February 9, 1995. He first embarked on the unlikely journey toward his historic spacewalk […]

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Citation Information

Article title: Daylight saving time instituted
Author: HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name: History
URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-9/daylight-saving-time-instituted

Date Accessed: August 01, 2025
Publisher: A&E Television Networks
Last Updated: May 27, 2025
Original Published Date: November 05, 2009

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