June 17th! Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day is celebrated in every part of the world. In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other countries, it falls on the third Sunday in June.

Father’s Day has an  interesting, meaningful, and long history. Surprisingly enough, Father’s Day did not become an official holiday until President Nixon’s proclamation in 1972.

Here is the fun part!

1909 – Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, the oldest of six children who were raised by her father after her mother died during childbirth, thought of the idea. Listening to a Mother’s Day sermon, she made up her mind to establish a day to honor fathers.

1910 – The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, WA on June 19, 1910.

1924 – President Calvin Coolidge recommended that the third Sunday in June be set aside for this national holiday.

1966 – President Lyndon Johnson signed a similar proclamation in 1966.

1972 – President Nixon signed the proclamation that made Father’s Day into the national holiday we have today.