Charles E. Dowd

Charles E. Dowd was an American educator and inventor from the 19th century who is best known for developing the first proposal for standard time zones. Recognizing the inefficiency of local mean time, he suggested dividing the world into uniform time sections to help train schedules, especially for railroads. His idea eventually influenced the global adoption of standardized time zones, which greatly improved travel, communication, and commerce. While he didn't implement the system himself, his innovative thinking laid the groundwork for the time standard we use today.