Selfadvocatenet.com Father’s Day Message
Father’s Day was created by Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, in 1910. Inspired by the recently established Mother’s Day, she wanted to honor her widowed Civil War veteran father who raised six children on his own.
The holiday’s path to becoming an official observance took several decades.
- First Celebration: Held in Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910.
- Grace Golden Clayton: Two years earlier, in 1908, Grace Golden Clayton had proposed a service to honor fathers in Fairmont, West Virginia, following a deadly local mining accident, but Dodd is the one credited with creating the nationwide holiday.
- Official Recognition: President Richard Nixon signed legislation making it an official U.S. national holiday in 1972.
Read more about its evolution on the








