1884 Washington Time Congress
A crucial convention where Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was voted as the time to adopt for global synchronization.
Other contenders for prime meridian were Paris (As home of metric units and measurements) and Jerusalem (Pushed by Italian Scientists)
1897-1898 Memoranda by British Association for the advancement of Science and Royal Scottish Geographical Society, respectively. Pushed forward for GMT adoption in the colonies.
1900 - First adoption in Federation of Malay States, Kuala Lumpur as mean time for the entire federation.
1905 Adoption of GMT+7, in sync with french Indochina
1890- Natal GMT+2, 1892 - Cape Colony adoption of 1.5 GMT. South African Time Unification in 1902
1903 - German Southwest Africa is ordered to adopt CET. Until 1912 they used Cape Town observatory Time, which is GMT+2, without the approval of the office in Berlin.
12 units divided sunlight in ancient Greece, and their base 12 counting method relying on the finger joints. System probably taken from the Babylonians
Greeks assign 60 minutes and 60 seconds as subdivisions of the 360 degree units of their circles. Base 60 counting system probably taken from the Sumerians
Chinese solar terms, a 24 division of the year, each division corresponding to a 15 degree variation of the sun, each marking a "Season". This created weeks of 14-16 days of lenght.
Chile adopts UTC-5 in 1910
Russia carved up 11 time zones between 1919-1924. Before that it was all synced to St Petesburg time in the railway system, but followed sundials for local time
African adoption of hour-wide timezones in the postwar period, from 1919-1930
1930 While debating if Kenya was to adopt UTC+2:45, becomes clear that exact hours and half hour variations regarding GMT was only costumary, but not mandatory under the Washington Time Congress
1901-1908-1909 hosted Latin American Congresses where the adoption of mean time in the region was deemed as important. Implementation only came in 1911.
1890 - Peru adopts national mean time after receiving an invitation by Italy to vote on Jerusalem as prime meridian. Only fully adopts GMT-5 in 1908
1912 Paris Time Conference
1914 Brazil adopts GMT. It sided with France to vote Paris as prime meridian
1918 Guatemala sets UTC-6. 1920 Uruguay sets time to UTC-4. 1920 Argentina UTC-4, 1922 Mexico UTC - 6.
1920 Paris Time Conference. Draws schemes of boundaries for maritime time zones, as keeping time on open seas became increasingly important for military and commercial navigation
1929-1931 UTC adoption and adjustements in Bermiuda, Solomon Islands, Gilbert and Ellice Islands
1920s sees the implementation of UTC+2 in most Middle East countries due to British and French Colonial presence
Zulu calendar having 13 moons a year, with a moonless period after each 28 day period, when they were supposed to rest.
1916 Greek adoption of Athens time, and in 1919 UTC+2.
1910 Japanese annexation of Korea, and 1913 of Manchuria. All japanese posessions were set at Japan time UTC+9
1911 Chinese implementation of UTC+8 in coastal cities, with 5 more time zones. In 1949, The People's Republic abolished them and kept only Beijing Time.
Adoption of daylight savings in all British Colonies to help in the WWI war effort
Only between 1940 and 1950 did the dust settle on frequent time changes, and (most of) the elmination of quarter and half hour differences with Greenwich was resolved, mainly by the commercial aviation Industry and its global reach.
In 1947 the International Organization for Standardisation Pushed for UTC for commercial and industrial standards.
How colonial time(s) w(ere) implemented?
the colonial workplace
the politics of nationalism
the case of Bombay as resisting
the end of the 19th century: introduction of greenwich time to India
after December 1, 1881 James Fergusson missing train case: the times in use across the region of Bombay were unified
In April 1883 - referendum
on the question of displaying Madras or Bombay time
in 1883 - the return to Bombay time
summer 1904 implementation of the Indian Standard Time
only in 1950 the clocks in all regions of India were set to standard time
the introduction of a region- wide mean time came to the Levant in the 1930s.
“Internationalism, regardless of its proclaimed attempt to organize interests beyond the petty concerns of individual nation-states, had been a sparring ground for competing national interests from its very beginnings"
1910 the telegram was legally determining the Islamic calendar (start\end of Ramadan)
1923, the Egyptian Ministry of Pious Endowments issued an ordinance to all mosques in Cairo to set watches to 12 o'clock at the firing of the noon cannon and to observe the prayer times according to the calculation of the government almanac