History of Father’s Day

Modern-day Father’s Day originated in U.S. – spreading to countries around the world – through the efforts of Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash., according to most beliefs. The century-old idea came to Dodd when listening to Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, and she pondered if there is a day to honor mother then why not for father? Dodd felt a strong affection for her own father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran. Her mother died in childbirth when she was 16. Smart raised the newborn and five other children.