The History of Father's Day

Father’s Day honours all men who are father figures, including fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles and adult male friends such as those of the Big Brother organization.

Some historians believe that the earliest Father’s Day celebrations began with the Romans, although they only honoured those who were deceased.

The first Father’s Day Service is believed to have been conducted by Dr. Robert Webb in 1908 at the Central Church of Fairmont, West Virginia.

The idea of setting up a Father’s Day holiday was first suggested by Mrs. John B. Dodd (Sonora Louise Smart) of Spokane, Washington in 1909. Mrs. Dodd's father, William Jackson Smart, had raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. Mrs. Dodd’s dream became reality when a local celebration was proclaimed the following year, in 1910.

Harry C. Meek, President of a Chicago Lions Club, addressed various groups about the need to honour fathers throughout the United States. On his birthday in 1920, he received a gold watch from the Lions’ Clubs of America, bearing the inscription ‘Originator of Father’s Day’, in appreciation of his work.

Father’s Day was celebrated by President Woodrow Wilson’s family in 1916. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. It became an official holiday in 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation, setting aside the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. A permanent national observation of the day was established in 1972 by President Richard Nixon.