Daylight saving time was created for farmers
| Daylight saving time was created for farmers | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "Daylight saving time was introduced to give farmers more daylight to work in the fields." | |
| Domain | Government, Law & Courts |
| Tactic | Fabrication |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 20th century |
| Origin | Popular explanation repeated in schools and the media |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Government, Law & Courts | |
The claim that daylight saving time was created for farmers gets the history backwards. Germany introduced the first national daylight saving time in 1916 to save coal during World War I, and other countries, including the United States in 1918, followed for similar reasons. American farmers were among its strongest opponents, because their work follows the sun and the needs of livestock, not the clock.
The claim
The explanation is often repeated when clocks change, sometimes with the claim that farmers wanted the extra hour of evening light.
What the evidence shows
- A wartime energy measure. Germany and Austria-Hungary adopted daylight saving time on April 30, 1916. Britain and others followed, and the US adopted it under the Standard Time Act of 1918.
- Farmers opposed it. Farm groups lobbied for repeal. Congress repealed national daylight saving time in 1919, overriding President Woodrow Wilson's veto.
- Later adoption. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized daylight saving time in the US, driven largely by commerce, retail and transport interests.
Why it persists
Farming seems like a natural reason to care about daylight, and the explanation is simple.
Lessons for readers
- Plausible-sounding origin stories are often wrong.
Sources
- Michael Downing, Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time (Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005).
- David Prerau, Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005).
- Uniform Time Act of 1966, Public Law 89-387.