The History of Father's Day

The first Father’s Day to be celebrated in the United States was believed to be in Spokane, Washington on June 19th, 1910. A year earlier, Mrs. John B. Dodd was listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day. She wanted to do something to honor fathers since her father, William Smart, a Civil War Veteran, was a widower who raised her alone. So she arranged the celebrations. Other cities soon joined in days honoring fathers.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. But that didn’t happen until 1963 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill enacting a national Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June.

Good, honorable men who have taken the role of fatherhood seriously have always had a profound impact on their children’s lives. It is only right and fitting to have a day to honor them.

Happy Father’s Day!