The History of Time

In 350 BCE, Aristotle defined time as “The calculable measure of motion with respect to before and afterness.” This idea of time has survived for thousands of years. From the complex Maya calendar in 100 BCE to the Chinese Heavenly Clockwork of 1090, inspirations for the modern concept of time were born from ancient thinkers, astronomers, and civil servants alike. It wasn't until 1905, with Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, where he disproves Issac Newton's theory that time passes at the same rate for everyone. Albert Einstein showed that measurements of time depend on the motion of each observer. And in 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act, making the use of time zones mandatory thanks to Sir Sandford Fleming's proposed system of worldwide time zones that we use today.