Before Sandford Fleming invented Standard Time, 12 p.m. in Kingston was twelve minutes later than 12 p.m. in Montreal and thirteen minutes before 12 p.m. in Toronto. Noon was the time when the sun stood exactly overhead. In the old days, locally-based time made sense to everyone, but with the introduction of railways, it became inconvenient. Imagine traveling across the country by train. At every stop along the way, you would have to reset your time piece by the local clocks.

Fleming devised a world map divided into 24 Time Zones. Within each zone the clocks would indicate the same time, with a one hour difference between adjoining zones.

Fleming's idea was simple and practical, but it was new & difficult for people to accept. For years it was dismissed by governments & scientists. Some believed that such interference with the nature of time was contrary to the will of God.

Eventually he won official approval at the International Prime Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C., and Standard Time went into effect on January 1, 1885.