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Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed
the idea of a "father's day" in 1909.
Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William
Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran,
was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth
with their sixth child.
Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five
children by himself on a rural farm in
eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an
adult that she realized the strength
and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children
as a single parent.
The first Father's Day was observed on June
19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same
time in various towns and cities across American other people
were beginning to celebrate a "father's day."
In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a
national Father's Day. Finally in 1966
President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation
declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.
Father's Day has become a day to not only
honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure.
Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends
are all honored on Father's Day.
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