SPOKANE, 1910
A father who raised six
Sonora Smart Dodd's mother died in 1898. Her father raised all six children, and she wanted fathers given a place in the sun.
Walk the timelineA SHORT HISTORY
A day for dad,
and why.
Mother's Day came first, and a daughter in Spokane noticed.
Walk the timeline
3RD SUNDAYin June
Sonora Smart Dodd, raised by her widowed father, asked why fathers had no day of their own. Her idea was first celebrated in Spokane, Washington, on 19 June 1910, and it took more than 60 years to become a permanent US holiday.
At a glance
- A daughter's idea
- Roses for fathers
- Official by 1972
- How a local day became a habit
100 a day
Letters Sonora Smart Dodd received at the peak
After wire services carried the Spokane story, letters poured in from across the country and the world, many asking to bring the celebration to their own communities.
SPREAD · HISTORYLINK
361 at least
Men killed in the 1907 mine explosion
The West Virginia Encyclopedia calls the Monongah explosion of 6 December 1907 the worst mine disaster in US history; the true toll is thought to be higher.
MONONGAH · e-WV
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
An idea that
caught on.
One figure on how fast the idea spread,
one on the tragedy behind the Fairmont service.
Mother's Day also began in West Virginia, at Grafton, through the efforts of Anna Jarvis in honour of her mother, the West Virginia Encyclopedia notes.
A QUICK TIMELINE
From one town
to the calendar.
Pick a milestone to see what happened. The bar shows how official the day had become.
Dates from HistoryLink.org, the American Presidency Project and the US Code. Some histories also credit the 1908 Fairmont service.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Spokane started it,
Congress settled it.
The day grew from local celebrations
into a fixed date in the calendar.
THE FIRST DAY
Roses and small gifts
On 19 June 1910 people wore roses in honour of their fathers, children gave small gifts, and Dodd delivered presents to housebound fathers.
How it spread
FAIRMONT, 1908
An earlier memorial
In Fairmont, West Virginia, a 1908 service honoured fathers after the Monongah mine disaster of 1907, which killed at least 361 men.
See the numbers
FOUR TRADITIONS FROM 1910
How the first
day was kept.
HistoryLink's account of Spokane's first Father's Day describes simple customs that are still familiar.
Wear a rose
People wore roses in honour of their fathers.
Give something small
Children gave their fathers small gifts.
Visit someone housebound
Dodd spent part of the day delivering gifts to fathers who could not get out.
Make it public
Local businesses took out Father's Day adverts in the newspapers.
HOW IT SPREAD
From jest
to law.
News of the Spokane celebration spread by wire, written 'either in the spirit of jest or earnest', in Dodd's words. Other cities took up the idea over the next decade, and by 1925 Dodd wrote that the whole country was paying tribute to fatherhood.
Formal recognition came slowly. In 1938 the International Father's Day Association made congressional recognition its top project; the 1966 proclamation and the 1972 designation followed. Dodd, then aged 90, said she was happy it had come to pass in her lifetime.
Questions
Questions people ask
Who started Father's Day?
Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, is usually credited. She had the idea in 1909 and the first Spokane celebration took place on 19 June 1910. A memorial service in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1908 is also described as an early Father's Day.
Why was it in June?
Dodd proposed 5 June 1910, her father's birthday, but the ministers needed more time to prepare, so the date became 19 June.
When is Father's Day?
In the US, federal law says the third Sunday in June is Father's Day.
When did Father's Day become official?
President Johnson issued a Father's Day proclamation in 1966, and in 1972 the designation was made permanent.
What happened at Monongah?
On 6 December 1907 an explosion at two Monongah coal mines in West Virginia killed at least 361 men, the worst mine disaster in US history according to the West Virginia Encyclopedia.
Sources
Where the facts come from
- HistoryLink.org: Father's Day is conceived by Spokane's Sonora Smart Dodd (essay 9458)
- American Presidency Project: Proclamation 3730, Father's Day 1966
- Legal Information Institute: 36 U.S. Code section 109, Father's Day
- e-WV, The West Virginia Encyclopedia: Monongah Mine Disaster
- e-WV, The West Virginia Encyclopedia: Holidays and Celebrations
- WDTV (2023): Father's Day, where it began
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