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Father's Day

© Linda Campbell

The concept of a "Father's Day" was first proposed by Mrs. Sonora Dodd. Her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, had been widowed when his wife died in childbirth with their sixth child.

Mr. Smart reared the children by himself on a farm in Washington State. In 1909, while listening to a mother’s day sermon, Mrs Dodd, was inspired to start a campaign to honour men like her father.

Her father’s birthday was in June and the first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day as early as 1924 and in 1926 a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City.

Father’s Day was recognised by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956 and in 1972 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

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