The History of Fathers’ Day
The origins of Father's Day trace back more than a century. Inspired by the newly established Mothers’ Day, a young woman from Spokane, Washington, by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd, sought to honor her father, William Jackson Smart — a Civil War veteran and single father who raised six children after his wife’s passing. With the hopes of celebrating the sacrifices and leadership of fathers like hers, Sonora spread her idea through word of mouth throughout her community. Her grassroots campaign found fertile ground, and in 1910, Washington celebrated the first statewide Father’s Day.
Smart Dodd’s holiday quickly gained traction throughout the Evergreen State and gradually across the country. By 1916, the tradition of dedicating a day to fathers made its way to our nation’s capital when President Woodrow Wilson honored the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane. Just eight years later, President Calvin Coolidge took strides to further the holiday’s prominence, urging all states to formally observe Father’s Day.
While the holiday had gained widespread participation just years after its first celebration in 1910, no federal recognition was ever afforded to the date - that is, until the 1960s, when President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a presidential proclamation designating the date as Father’s Day. In 1972, 62 years after Sonora’s first celebration in Spokane, President Richard Nixon signed his predecessor’s proclamation into law, officially designating the third Sunday of June each year as Father’s Day.
The Importance of Father’s Day
In today’s fast-paced world, it is easy to overlook the contributions of fathers who work long hours, attend every dance recital and ballgame, and instill the moral compass that helps our future generations grow into upstanding citizens. But if we take a moment to look closely, we’ll find that their influence is all around us — quiet, consistent, and often unheralded.
Father’s Day serves as a reminder that behind every strong community is a core of strong families, and at the heart of many of those families is a father — a man who chooses to lead by example.
A father’s legacy is not defined in accolades but in consistency, compassion, and everyday acts of sacrifice that embody the kind of quiet strength that never makes headlines - but makes all the difference. This Father’s Day, let us show our appreciation for the dads who never ask for applause, yet lead lives worthy of a standing ovation.