What states in the US observe daylight savings time?
DAYLIGHT savings time happens twice a year and is a sign of the changing seasons.
In the spring, we change the clocks forward so that darkness falls at a later clock time, and in the fall, we change it back.
Do all US states follow daylight savings time?
From 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law that required states to follow daylight savings time, so many opted out.
The states' decisions then caused mass confusion, prompting former President Richard Nixon to sign into law the Emergency Daylight Time Energy Conservation Act in 1974 prior to his resignation.
As of 2023, there are only two states that don't observe DST, including Hawaii and Arizona.
There are also multiple United States territories that don't observe it, including:
- American Samoa
- Guam
- The Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- The United States Virgin Islands
Who invented daylight savings time?
Daylight savings time was first introduced by Benjamin Franklin in his essay titled An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light, which was published in the Journal de Paris in 1784.
Despite introducing it in 1784, Franklin's idea was forgotten until William Willett wrote the pamphlet, The Waste of Daylight.
Willett's pamphlet caused British Summer Time to be introduced by the Parliament in 1916.
Two years later, the House of Representatives voted 252 to 40 to pass a law "to save daylight," marking the official first daylight savings time on March 15, 1918.
This was initially met with much resistance, according to Michael Downing, author of the book titled Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, but has since become a custom.
When does the time change?
Daylight savings time always begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
Daylight savings time will begin on March 12, 2023, at 2am.
It will end on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 2am.
To remember which way to set their clocks, many people use the expression: "spring forward or fall back."