This year, Fathers' Day will be celebrated on June 20. Although the contributions of fathers have been revered throughout the centuries, there are specific events that led to the declaration of a specific day in their honour. Here is the story behind Fathers' Day, as we know it.

Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first had the idea of a 'father's day.' She thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's day sermon in 1909. Sonora wanted a special day to honour her father, William Smart. Smart, who was a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to 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.

After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910.

United States President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3^rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. Today, this tradition of specially honouring the love and courage of fathers is celebrated in many countries of the world.

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