The History of Father’s Day

Anna Jarvis began her quest for Mother’s Day in 1905. It wasn’t long before Sonora Dodd, hearing an early Mother’s Day tribute, decided that fathers needed the same honor and celebration. Dodd believed that her own father had been a wonderful man who had sacrificed much of his own life and happiness for her and her siblings.

Dodd’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, William Smart, raised his six children alone without any help. The family lived on a farm in Washington state, which is where Dodd continued to live as an adult. After hearing of Mother’s Day in 1909, Dodd organized a Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington in June of 1910.

Smart’s birthday had been on June 5, which is when Dodd wanted her minister to speak about the glory of fathers. The minister opted to wait until the third Sunday in June, however, to give a sermon about fatherhood. The tribute to fathers continued to grow in and around Spokane, and eventually the entire state of Washington honored fathers every third Sunday in June.

The rest of the nation began to follow suit by 1920. Washington and other states began to adopt resolutions calling for a celebration of fathers. The movement received such a national following that it reached President Theodore Roosevelt, who like the idea. Roosevelt did not, however, do anything with the initiative, and it was his successor, Calvin Coolidge, who signed an executive order in 1924 calling for the celebration of fatherhood.

President Lyndon Johnson later issued a presidential proclamation saying that the third Sunday in June should be devoted to fathers. Finally, in 1972, Richard Nixon signed a law making Father’s Day a holiday.

The Father’s Day tradition began as a way to honor one’s father. People showed their love for their fathers by wearing either a rose or a lilac on their lapels on the day of honoring. Now Father’s Day has become a holiday focused on showering Dad with gifts and showing him that he is special and appreciated.