06/16/2024
The first Father's Day was celebrated in 1910, but it took more than six decades for the day to become official.
The holiday piggybacked off Mother's Day, which became a commercial holiday in 1908. By 1914, Mother's Day was made official by President Woodrow Wilson, who said the second Sunday of May would be dedicated to honoring “that tender, gentle army, the mothers of America.”
The country was slower to honor fathers on a particular day.
However, in 1916, Wilson recognized Father's Day, and in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged states to observe the holiday.
Finally in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson made the first presidential proclamation that honored fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.
Natalie Neysa Alund
USA TODAY