Father’s Day history is rooted in the desire to honor fathers, with the most widely recognized origin story tracing back to Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington, in 1910. Inspired by a Mother’s Day sermon, she wanted to recognize her father, a Civil War veteran who raised her and her siblings alone.

While initial celebrations began in Spokane, it took several decades for Father’s Day to gain widespread recognition and become a national holiday in the United States.

President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a proclamation recognizing Father’s Day in 1966, and President Richard Nixon signed legislation in 1972 officially making it a national holiday.