John Anderson

Who was John Anderson?

John Anderson was a businessman, politician, and member of St. John's city council and member of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland, Canada. He was instrumental in the passing of the Daylight Saving Act of 1917.

Anderson was born in Saltcoats, Scotland and educated at Saltcoats Academy. He came to Newfoundland in 1875 and joined the firm of James Baird in St. John's. He served on the St. John's City Council from 1900 to 1904 and was elected to the House of Assembly around the same time. Anderson became fascinated with the idea of daylight saving time after meeting William Willett who had been promoting it in England. His advocacy for the bill to enact DST earned the sobriquet Anderson's Time. Newfoundland became the first jurisdiction in North America to adopt DST.

Anderson was the father of Captain Hugh Abercrombie Anderson, a Newfoundland playwright and member of Order of the British Empire who wrote the musical Auld Lang Syne.