There are two separate accounts of how Father’s Day came to be. The first one occurred on July 5, 1908 in a church in West Virginia. Grace Golden Clayton suggested a memorial be held for all of the 361 men who died in an explosion the previous year, many of them fathers.
The second account was inspired by Mother’s Day. Sonora Smart Dodd wanted a similar holiday to honor fathers. Her own father, William Jackson Smart, raised their family as a single parent after the death of their mother. Because William’s birthday was in June, Sonora thought it fitting to have the holiday during that month.
So the first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910. President Calvin Coolidge recommended that Father’s Day become a national holiday in 1924, but it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon made it official.
*Little known fact: Roses are the official flower of Father’s Day. Red roses for those who are alive and white roses for those dads who’ve passed away.
