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Her name was Sonora Louise Smart Dodd and she lived in Spokane, Washington. Sonora was the oldest of six children raised by their father, William Jackson Smart, when their mother died during childbirth. Sonora honored and revered her father, and while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909, she determined there should also be a day to honor fathers.
Sonora gained local support and made her dream a reality one year later within her own city of Spokane, Washington. Sonora married John Bruce Dodd. She died March 22, 1978, several years after Father's Day became a permanent national observance.
Why June?
In 1910 Sonora chose June 19th as the day to celebrate Father's Day because that was her father's birthday. With support from the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA, the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 19, 1910.
When did the United States begin celebrating Father's Day?
1910 Spokane, Washington celebrates Father's Day.
1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.
1926 The formation of National Father's Day Committee in New York City.
1956 Father's Day was recognized by Joint Resolution of Congress.
1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring that the third Sunday of June as Father's Day.
1972 President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday in June.
Do other countries celebrate Father's Day?
Father's Day is celebrated in every part of the world. In the United States, Canada and most countries in Asia, Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June.
Happy Father's Day!
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🕊 Rest in Paradise Dad
🕊 Rest in Paradise Mom
