6/20/2021 | Katie Snyder, Education Program Specialist

 It’s #fathersday! Today, we celebrate and remember all the dads, uncles, men who fill father roles, stepdads, godfathers, and grandpas in our lives! 

Did you know that although a day to honor fathers was celebrated in different countries and cultures much earlier, Father’s Day originated in the US in 1908 and again in 1910? 

The origins of Father’s Day are often credited to Sonora Smart Dodd who, in 1910, wanted to honor her father who raised six children as a single dad. But Father’s Day was actually first celebrated in the US in 1908. It was the brainchild of Grace Golden Clayton, who wanted to honor the many fathers killed on December 6, 1907, at Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah, West Virginia. 

Three hundred and sixty-seven men went down in the mine that day, but only 4 survived the tragic explosion.

The US had to wait quite some time for Father’s Day to become an official holiday. It was not until 1966 that President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed the 3rd Sunday in June to be Father’s Day, and in 1972 that President Richard Nixon signed it into law, making Father’s Day an official holiday.