Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson, whose shift-work job gave him leisure time to collect insects, and made him aware of the value of after-hours daylight.[2] In 1895 he presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society proposing a two-hour daylight-saving shift,[19] and after considerable interest was expressed in Christchurch, New Zealand he followed up in an 1898 paper.[20] Many publications incorrectly credit DST’s invention to the prominent English builder and outdoorsman William Willett,[21] who independently conceived DST in 1905 during a pre-breakfast ride, when he observed with dismay how many Londoners slept through a large part of a summer day.[22] An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk.[23] His solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later.[24]
As described in Politics below, Willett lobbied unsuccessfully for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, and Germany, its World War I allies, and their occupied zones were the first European nations to use Willett’s invention, starting April 30, 1916, as a way to conserve coal during wartime. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year; and the United States adopted it in 1918. Since then, the world has seen many enactments, adjustments, and repeals.[25]
Willett’s 1907 proposal argued that DST increases opportunities for outdoor leisure activities during afternoon sunlight hours. The longer days nearer the summer solstice in high latitudes offer more room to shift daylight from morning to evening so that early morning daylight is not wasted.[24] DST is commonly not observed during most of winter, because its mornings are darker: workers may have no sunlit leisure time, and children may need to leave for school in the dark.[39]
Retailers, sporting goods makers, and other businesses benefit from extra afternoon sunlight, as it induces customers to shop and to participate in outdoor afternoon sports.[50] In 1984, Fortune magazine estimated that a seven-week extension of DST would yield an additional $30 million for 7-Eleven stores, and the National Golf Foundation estimated the extension would increase golf industry revenues $200 million to $300 million.[51] A 1999 study estimated that DST increases the revenue of the European Union’s leisure sector by about 3%.[8] Conversely, DST can adversely affect farmers and others whose hours are set by the sun.[4] For example, grain harvesting is best done after dew evaporates, so when field hands arrive and leave earlier in summer their labor is less valuable.[52] DST also hurts prime-time broadcast ratings[5] and drive-in and other theaters.[53]\Daylight saving has caused controversy since it began.[1] Winston Churchill argued that it enlarges “the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country”.[82] Robertson Davies, however, detected “the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy and wise in spite of themselves”,[83] and wags have dubbed it “Daylight Slaving Time”.[84] Historically, retailing, sports and tourism interests have favored daylight saving, while agricultural and evening entertainment interests have opposed it, and its initial adoption has been prompted by energy crisis and war.[85]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time