<Tr> <Td> 2024 </Td> <Td> March 10 </Td> <Td> November 3 </Td> </Tr> <P> Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784 . His essay, "An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light", written to the editor of The Journal of Paris, observed that Parisians could save on candles by getting out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead . Franklin's suggestion seems to have been more of a joke than a real proposal, and nothing came of it . </P> <P> During World War I, in an effort to conserve fuel, Germany began observing DST on May 1, 1916 . The rest of Europe soon followed . The plan was not adopted in the United States until the Standard Time Act of March 19, 1918, which confirmed the existing standard time zone system and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918 (reverting October 27). The idea was unpopular and Congress abolished DST after the war, overriding President Woodrow Wilson's veto . DST became a local option and was observed in some states until World War II, when President Franklin Roosevelt instituted year - round DST, called "War Time", on February 9, 1942 . It lasted until the last Sunday (the 30th) in September 1945 . After 1945 many states and cities east of the Mississippi River (and mostly north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers) adopted summer DST . </P> <P> From 1945 to 1966 there was no federal law on daylight saving time, so localities could choose when it began and ended or drop it entirely . As of 1954, only California and Nevada had statewide DST west of the Mississippi, and only a few cities between Nevada and St. Louis . In the 1964 Official Railway Guide, 21 of the 48 states had no DST anywhere . </P>

Who started daylight savings in the united states