British Summer Time ends 27 Oct 2024

Time is of the essence today: the last Sunday of October marks the end of British Summer Time. At 2 AM this morning, the clocks fell back one hour, meaning there was an extra hour of sleep. While the idea of summer time was mentioned in 1784 by American inventor Benjamin Franklin, the first serious proposal for changing the clocks in the United Kingdom came from British builder William Willett in 1907. He valued having more daylight and felt so strongly about this that he published a pamphlet called "The Waste of Daylight. Over time, many countries adopted the practice to give people more daylight in the evenings during the summer months.

© Puthipong Worasaran/Moment/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

A kiss and a sigh
27 Oct 2023Sligachan Old Bridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland

More Desktop Wallpapers:

13 Oct 2023Vieste, Apulia, Italy
27 Feb 2024International Polar Bear Day
1 Oct 2023Lake Bled, Slovenia
Small but mighty
27 Feb 2026International Polar Bear Day
Rainbow reflection
7 Sep 2024Annas hummingbird
19 Aug 2025The Three Musketeers Falls at Iguazú Falls, Argentina
20 Dec 2024Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
11 Jun 2024Gemsboks in the savannah, Botswana
This blue succulent has spirit
13 May 2025Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile
14 Nov 2023Russell lupines, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
The buffet is open
12 Mar 2026Juvenile sunbittern displaying at nest, Ecuador
Where can you find this cute creature?
27 Jul 2025Barracudas at Shark Reef, Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
1 Feb 2026Colourful house in Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil
27 Mar 2024World Theatre Day
10 Oct 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado, USA
31 Oct 2025Happy Halloween!
6 Mar 2025Bighorn sheep in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, United States
This lake is no mirage
16 Aug 2025The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival
Sep 9, 2023Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand
2 Nov 2023Death Valley National Park, California, USA
A shallow sea
25 Oct 2023Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
Why are blackbirds tied to winter?
11 Jul 2024World Population Day