Calder went into business as a
builder and
architect, most notably in the
Park Slope and
Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In this capacity, he developed the "Calder House," a semi-detached two-family structure that was widely adopted in the latter district. From 1902 until his death, Calder resided in the former district at 551 1st Street, a limestone townhouse built by competitor William Flanagan.{{cite web He served as the
Borough of Brooklyn building commissioner from 1902 to 1903. He represented New York as a
Republican in the
United States House of Representatives from 1905 until 1915. In
1914, he lost the Republican primary for the
United States Senate to
James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. In
1916, he won the Republican primary, defeating
Robert Bacon, and was elected to the
Senate over Democratic National Committee chairman
William F. McCombs in the general election. He served one term, from 1917 to 1923. During his tenure, he became well known as the sponsor of the
Standard Time Act in 1918 (also known as the Calder Act), the first U.S. law implementing
standard time and
daylight saving time in the United States. In
1922, he was defeated for re-election by
Democrat Royal S. Copeland. After leaving Congress he continued to be active in the building trade and financial institutions. == Personal life ==