Father's Day: third Sunday in June

The idea for Father's Day was conceived by Sonora Smart Dodd during a Mother's Day sermon. Raised by her father after her mother died, Sonora believed he deserved a special day in his honor and, in 1909, drew up a petition recommending the adoption of a national "father's day."

The first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington on June 19th, 1910. (Dodd had aimed for the first Sunday in June, her father's birthday, but red tape held the resolution up until the third Sunday.) In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

Since the inception of the holiday, Father's Day has been expanded to include uncles, stepfathers, older brothers, and any other men who act in a "fatherly" capacity.