Daylight Saving Time

Benjamin Franklin is credited with the concept of Daylight Saving Time. The basic idea is to make the best use of daylight hours by shifting the clock forward in the Spring and backward in the Fall. Daylight Saving Time has been in use throughout much of the United States, Canada and Europe since World War I. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act into law whereby Daylight Saving Time begins on the last Sunday of April and ends on the last Sunday of October each year. However, any State can opt out of Daylight Saving Time by passing a State law.

Hawaii does not observe Daylight Saving Time and neither does Arizona (although the Navajo Nation, in northeastern Arizona, does). For many years, most of Indiana did not observe Daylight Saving Time with the exception of 10 counties. Beginning in 2006, all of Indiana now observes Daylight Saving Time. However, the state remains divided in two time zones. Seventy-four counties (including state capital Indianapolis) are in the Eastern Time Zone. The 18 remaining counties are in the Central Time Zone (see: Indiana Time Zones).

US Federal law was amended in 1986 to begin Daylight Saving Time on the first Sunday in April:

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of April
Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of October

In 2005, President Bush signed into law a new energy policy bill that would extend Daylight Saving Time by 4 weeks beginning in 2007:

Beginning in 2007:
Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March
Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November

The corresponding time zones in Canada also switch to Daylight Saving Time on the same dates. However, some regions of in British Columbia and Saskatchewan do not use Daylight Saving Time. They include: Charlie Lake, Creston (East Kootenays), Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, and Taylor (all in British Columbia), and most of Saskatchewan (except Creighton and Denare Beach).

In Europe, Daylight Saving Time is referred to as Summer Time. Throughout most of western Europe (including members of the European Community (EC)):

Summer Time (Daylight Saving) Begins at 1 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday of March
Summer Time (Daylight Saving) Ends at 1 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday of October

The following table gives the dates and times when Daylight Saving Time is in effect in the United States and Europe from 2001 through 2015:

Daylight Saving Time 2001 - 2015
Year	United States		European Union
	Daylight Saving Time Begins at 2 a.m.	Daylight Saving Time Ends at 2 a.m.	Summer Time Begins at 1 a.m. GMT	Summer Time Ends at 1 a.m. GMT
2001	April 01	October 28	March 25	October 28
2002	April 07	October 27	March 31	October 27
2003	April 06	October 26	March 30	October 26
2004	April 04	October 31	March 28	October 31
2005	April 03	October 30	March 27	October 30
2006	April 02	October 29	March 26	October 29
2007	March 11	November 04	March 25	October 28
2008	March 09	November 02	March 30	October 26
2009	March 08	November 01	March 29	October 25
2010	March 14	November 07	March 28	October 31
2011	March 13	November 06	March 27	October 30
2012	March 11	November 04	March 25	October 28
2013	March 10	November 03	March 31	October 27
2014	March 09	November 02	March 30	October 26
2015	March 08	November 01	March 29	October 25