How was time set before radios?

Telegraph lines were commonly built along railroad lines, and were also used for time synchronization. Telegraph stations synchronised with each other, and that was used for clocks on public buildings and such.

How did people set clocks before Internet?

Many offices had clocks that were synchronized using Western Union telegraph services. Starting in the 1920s, the Bell phone system offered services in major cities to tell the time. In NYC, it was MERidian-1212 (637-1212). Later on, the US Naval Observatory offered time at 202-762-1401.

How were clocks set in the old days?

The invention of the telegraph changed this. Now, for the first time, it was possible to accurately synchronize clocks across long distances. In 1865, the US Naval Observatory began transmitting time across telegraph wires. Later, in the 20th century, we developed radio-broadcast clock transmissions.

How were clocks set in the 1800s?

In the 1800s, the three main sources of determining the time were the clock at the center of your town, the railroads, and the sun, but it would not be uncommon for all three to tell you different times. Every city or town had the ability to set its own time so 1:05 PM in your town could be 1:15 the next town over.

When did humans start using an official clock to tell time?

It is believed that the ancient Greeks started using these early timekeeping devices around 325 BC. These clocks were mainly used to determine the hours of nighttime, but they may also have been used for daylight hours as well. The hourglass is another form of early timekeeping device that was used in ancient times.

When was the first railway timetable set on Greenwich Mean Time?

In turn, train guards set their chronometers against those clocks. The introduction of railway time was in the end swift despite not being straightforward. The Great Western Railway was the first to standardise its timetable on Greenwich Mean Time, in November 1840.

When did Standard Time become legal in Great Britain?

Another town that stood its ground was Oxford where the great clock on Tom Tower at Christ Church, Oxford had two minute hands. It was not until 2 August 1880, when the Statutes (Definition of Time) Act received the Royal Assent, that a unified standard time for the whole of Great Britain achieved legal status.

When was standard time introduced in North America?

The development of railway networks in North America in the 1850s, India in around 1860, and in Europe, prompted the introduction of standard time influenced by geography, industrial development, and political governance.

When did the railway time change to Paris Mean Time?

In 1911, France adopted Paris Mean Time delayed 9 minutes 21 seconds, Greenwich Mean Time without mentioning Greenwich. At the same time, slow railway station clocks were eliminated. In Germany the standardisation of time had started to be discussed in the 1870s. North German railways were already regulated to Berlin Time in 1874.