Standard Time
a system of timereckoning, chiefly for the convenience of railroads in the United States, established by mutual agreement in 1883 on principles first suggested by Charles F. Dowd, of Saratoga Springs, N. Y.
The United States, beginning at its extreme E. limit and extending to the Pacific coast, is divided into four timesections: E., central, mountain, and Pacific. The É. section, the time of which is that of the 75th meridian, lies between the Atlantic Ocean and an irregular line drawn from Detroit, Mich., to Charleston, S. C. The central, the time of which is that of the 90th meridian, includes all between the last-named line and an irregular line from Bismarck, N. D., to the mouth of the Rio Grande. The mountain, the time of which is that of the 105th meridian, includes all between the last-named line and the W. boundary of Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona. The Pacific, the time of which is that of the 120th meridian, includes all between the last-named line and the Pacific coast.
The difference in time between adjoining sections is one hour. Thus, when it is 12 o'clock noon in New York City (E. time) it is 11 o'clock A. M. (central time) at Chicago, and 10 o'clock A. M. at Denver (mountain time), and at San Francisco, 9 o'clock A. M. (Pacific time). The true local time of any place is slower or faster than the standard time as the place is E. or W. of the time meridian; thus, the true local time at Boston, Mass., is 16 minutes faster than E. standard time, while at Buffalo, N. Y., it is 16 minutes slower, the 75th time meridian being half way between Boston and Buffalo. Local time and standard time agree at Denver, Col., as Denver is on the 105th meridian of the mountain section. In Europe, Spain and Holland first adopted standard time.