The concept of adjusting daily schedules to make better use of daylight dates back to Benjamin Franklin in 1784, who humorously suggested that Parisians could economize on candles by waking earlier in summer, though he did not propose changing clocks. The first serious proposal came from George Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist, in 1895, who suggested advancing clocks by two hours in spring to allow more daylight for evening activities. In 1907, British builder William Willett campaigned for advancing clocks by 80 minutes in four increments during April, aiming to save energy, but his proposal was not implemented until 1916. 

The first practical use of DST occurred in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, on July 1, 1908, when residents turned clocks forward by one hour. Other Canadian cities followed, including Regina in 1914 and Winnipeg in 1916. However, DST did not gain widespread adoption until Germany and Austria introduced it in 1916 during World War I to conserve fuel by reducing the need for artificial lighting. Soon after, the United Kingdom, France, and other countries adopted DST, though many reverted to standard time after the war.