Father's Day Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Sonora was raised by her father, William Smart, who was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise his six children by himself. Having been raised by her father, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day. RETURN TO TOP