History of Father's Day

Sonora Smart Dodd's mother died when she was 16, leaving her father (a civil war veteran) to raise his six children alone. Wishing to pay tribute to William Smart after his death, in 1909 Mrs. Dodd was inspired by Anna Jarvis' work to promote Mother's Day. The campaign took wings, and the first Father's Day was celebrated in June 1910 (June being the anniversary of both the birth and death of Mr. Smart), in Spokane, Washington. In 1924 Calvin Coolidge recommended the day to be an American holiday. The day was recognized in a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1966 Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation making Father's Day the third Sunday in June. In 1972 Richard Nixon establed it as a permanent national observance. Over the years many countries have adopted the observance, including Canada and the Netherlands.

Mrs. Dodd also introduced the official Father's Day flower, the rose. Red if he's alive, and white if he's passed away. Sonora Smart Dodd died in 1978 at the age of 96.