Who decided the timezones for countries? E.g. Australia is ahead of Europe and America. Who decided this?

Answer 1

God.
As long as the Earth spins on its axis in the direction it does, the sun will always rise in Australia before it rises in Europe, and will always rise in Europe before it rises in America.

Whoever decided that the Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich, England decided the time zones, as one hour is necessarily 15° of Earth's rotation.

Answer 2

The British got to have the Prime Meridian because they had the best army and navy and had conquered more of the world. ("The sun never sets on the British empire.") For awhile there was another prime meridian going through Paris. It became confusing to pirates. If you stole a treasure map you needed to know if the pirates favored the British or the French.
The rest has been said: 360 degrees divided by 24 hours = 15 degrees per hour.

Answer 3

Because the earth turns from west to east, the sun rises in Australia before it rises in England. It rises in England before it rises in America. But it rises in America before it rises in Australia.

So someone had to decide where the day begins. The British decided this because they had the best navigators in the world. They positioned the line at which the day begins as far as possible from Britain, and so it has been ever since.

Answer 4

The governments of the affected countries/ In the U.S., The congress passed the legislation and the President signed it into law, in the U.K., parliamnet passed it and Blair signed it into law.

Tim
Birmingham AL

Answer 5

Apparently some damn Brit, and I'm allowed to call em that cause I am one.

Answer 6

uk