Before Daylight Savings Time - "The Day of Two Noons"

Taking the Time, Brooklyn Navy Yard. ca. 1890-1901. 

Detroit Publishing Company. Prints & Photographs Division

The advent of the railroad and telegraph systems necessitated a more standardized approach to timekeeping, as scheduling became increasingly complex with the multitude of local times. This led to the creation of standard time zones, which were first proposed by Sir Sandford Fleming in the late 19th century and gradually adopted worldwide. The United States, for example, adopted standardized time zones on November 18, 1883, an event known as "The Day of Two Noons," when railroad stations set their clocks to the new standard time as the sun reached noon.