Father's Day Origin

As Father's Day in the U.S. is about to end, I thought I might share this brief history of Father's Day in the U.S. It is quite interesting that the concept of a special day to honor Fathers started with a daughter on Mother's Day.

The idea of Father's Day was conceived by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm.

A day in June was chosen for the first Father's Day celebration - June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart's birth.

The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.

Father's Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

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