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Sonora Smart Dodd was the founder of Father's Day in the United States. She was born in Arkansas, lost her mother at a young age, and raised her brothers with her father in Washington.
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William Jackson Smart was a twice-married, twice-widowed father of 14 children.
William Jackson Smart was a twice-married, twice-widowed Civil War veteran and father of 14 children, one of whom dedicated her life to the creation of Father’s Day in honor of her devoted and selfless dad.
The story goes that William’s daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd, was attending one of the first official Mother’s Day services in 1909 at her church in Spokane, Washington, when she had an epiphany—if mothers deserved a day in honor of their loving service, why not fathers?
When Sonora was 16, her mother Ellen died, leaving William as a single father to Sonora and her five younger brothers. And by Sonora’s account, he performed brilliantly. “I remember everything about him,” Sonora said many years later to the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “He was both father and mother to me and my brothers and sisters.”
Sonora’s mother Ellen, herself a widow, had three children from a previous marriage. On top of that, William had also been married and widowed before he met Sonora’s mother. William had five children with his first wife, Elizabeth, who were already grown when William became a widower for the second time.
In 1910, Sonora brought a petition before the Spokane Ministerial Alliance to recognize the courage and devotion of all fathers like William on June 5, her dad’s birthday. The local clergy liked the idea of a special Father’s Day service, but couldn’t pull something together so quickly, so they settled for June 19, the third Sunday in June.
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Sonora Smart Dodd was the daughter of William Jackson Smart, a twice-widowed Civil War veteran and single father of 14 children. She initiated the first Father's Day celebration in 1910 in Spokane, Washington, and campaigned for decades to make it a national holiday.
- Dave Roos
Jun 16, 2023 · In 1898, Sonora Louise Smart Dodd was just 16 years old when her mother died. Her newly widowed father, Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was left to raise Dodd and her five...
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Jun 18, 2023 · Sonora Smart Dodd lobbied local church and public officials for its creation. In the years that followed, Father’s Day grew to become an international event and Dodd lived to see President Richard Nixon declare it an official U.S. holiday in 1972. (AP Photo/Jeff T. Green, File) Read More. By John Rogers. Published 5:02 AM PDT, June 18, 2023.
Jun 20, 2021 · Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to honor her widowed dad, a farmer and Civil War veteran. She partnered with big business to make it happen.
Jun 18, 2023 · Arts Jun 18, 2023 1:30 PM EDT. LOS ANGELES (AP) — You could call her the mother of Father’s Day. The late Sonora Smart Dodd launched the celebration of dads in 1910 in her hometown of Spokane,...
Jun 16, 2023 · Learn about the life and achievements of Sonora Smart Dodd, the "Mother of Father's Day." She was born in Arkansas, moved to Washington, and initiated the first Father's Day celebration in 1910.
