Standard time facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Standard time is putting all clocks in a time zone to the same time.

Standard time can also be used to mean the time without daylight saving time. Standard time happens from autumn to early spring. Daylight saving time happens from early spring to autumn.

History

Great Britain

Standard time was first used by British railways on December 11, 1847, when they switched from local mean time to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Almost all of Great Britain's public clocks were using GMT by 1855.

North America

Before 1883, local mean time was used in all of North America. This meant there were many different local times. This caused problems for train schedules. Sandford Fleming, a Canadian, proposed standard time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on February 8, 1879. The owners of the major railroads met in Chicago to make the Standard Time System. Most states began using the system soon after the railroads. The U.S. government officially began using the system almost fifty years later.

Criticism

Some people do not like standard time (and daylight saving time). Some people do not like it because they do not trust in government. Others believe that it disturbs circadian rhythms. Others simply like traditional, natural markers of time, like sunsets, noon and sunrise.

More reading

Images for kids

  • Standard World Time Zones

    Worldwide time zones at present

  • Allegheny Observatory (8098380656)

    Telegraphic equipment used to transmit standard time from the Allegheny Observatory


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Standard time Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.