Father's Day: Founding, Fast Facts

Sonora Smart Dodd, of Spokane, WA, can be thanked for the celebration that honors fathers. She proposed the idea after attending a Mother's Day service in 1909. 

Historical references indicate Dodd wanted to honor her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who raised six children after his wife died in childbirth. Her efforts were successful, and the first Father's Day observance was held in 1910.

June 19, 1910, was proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth. 

However, after the first observances, there was scattered support for the idea. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.  In 1972, Father's Day was assured annual recognition by presidential proclamation. Throughout the world, Father’s Day is celebrated at various times throughout the year. 

The Census Bureau and other organizations recently released interesting information when considering it within the context of Father's Day.

• There are estimated to be 70.1 million fathers in the United States.
  
• A total of 25.3 million fathers were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2010.
• There were 1.8 million single fathers in 2010, and that means that 15 percent of single parents were men.
• It is estimated that there were 154,000 stay-at-home dads in 2010. These married fathers cared for 287,000 children for at least one year while their wives worked outside the home.
• $2.8 billion in child support was received by custodial fathers in 2007 (They were due $4.3 billion. In contrast, custodial mothers received $18.6 billion of the $29.8 billion in support that was due.)
• The National Retail Federation predicts consumers could spend $11.1 billion on fathers this year, up 13 percent from Father's Day a year ago. The average spending on dad is expected to reach $107 per dad this year.
• Consumers are expected to spend $2.1 billion on activities, including a trip to the movies or a dinner out, and $1.4 billion on gift cards. $653 million will be spent on sporting goods and $3.9 billion will be spent on electronics, clothing and home improvement items.
• The rose is the official flower for Father's Day. Wearing a red rose signifies a living father, while a white one represents a deceased father.
• Nearly 95 million Father's Day cards are given each year. Sons and daughters send 50 percent of the Father's Day card to their dads. Another 20 percent of Father’s Day cards are purchased by wives for their husbands.  The remaining 30 percent of the cards are given to grandfathers, sons, brothers, uncles and “someone special.”
• According to , Father's Day is the fourth most popular card giving holiday behind Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

Sources:

• America’s Families and Living Arrangements, U.S. census
• Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2005/Summer 2006
• Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support
• County Business Patterns
• Woodridge Patch