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William Willett

William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (died 1915)

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Born
August 10, 1856
Died
March 4, 1915
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1856

About William Willett

William Willett was a British builder and a promoter of British Summer Time. Between them they created a reputation for "Willett built" quality houses in choice parts of London and the south, including Chelsea and Hove, including Derwent House. Modern DST was first proposed by New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson, although many publications incorrectly credit Willett.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when William Willett was born

William Willett was born in 1856. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineRep. Brooks canes Sen. Sumner on Senate floor
  • Technology milestoneFirst synthetic dye (mauveine) discovered
  • World population~1.36B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin Pierce
  • U.S. population27.1M

1856 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in William Willett's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18562026
Population27.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.