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About this page:
Below is a brief history of Father's Day, starting with Sonora Dodd who apparently conceived of the idea. It also includes Father's Day trivia, Famous Fathers, People with "Daddy" in their name, and the words to "I Am My Own Grandpa."

In the right sidebar is a quick jump to the history special features. Below it are numerous boxes with links to father-related information, from gay dads to gadget gifts.

Father's Day
3rd Sunday, June

"That is the thankless position of the father in the family-the provider for all, and the enemy of all." -- J. August Strindberg


Wilstar.com form his Father's Day Quotes

A Brief History. Pretty well everyone agrees that Sonora Dodd, of Washington, got the idea of Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died giving birth to their 6th child

It was Mr. Smart's role as a selfless and apparently very loving father that inspired Sonora to honour him by holding the first Father's Day in June, the month of his birth.

The first Father's Day was held in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. In 1924 Calvin Coolidge supported a national Father's Day, and in 1966 Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. (wilstar.com)

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Timeline. Here's a timeline of Father's Day from 1910 to 1972

  • 1910 Sonora Dodd organizes the first Father's Day on June 19, her own father's birthday.

  • 1924 President Calvin Coolidge publicly supports plans for a national Father's Day.

  • 1926 The National Father's Day Committee meets for the first time in New York City.

  • 1956 The observance of Father's Day is recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress.

  • 1966 President Lyndon Johnson proclaims Father's Day to be an official national holiday.

  • 1972 President Nixon signs a law a permanent U.S. Father's Day to be observed on the 3rd Sunday of June. (Learning Network - Father's Day Timeline)

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Father's Day Flowers: Roses are the Father's Day flower. Red roses are to be worn for a living father & white if the father has died. (Presumably the offspring wear the flowers since, while pinning a red rose on a living father is fine, the alternative is somewhat socially unacceptable.) OttawaPlus.ca

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Father's Day Trivia:

A Babylonian youth named Elmesu carved the first known Father's Day card in clay nearly 4000 years ago. His message wished his father good health and a long life. (Numerous sources, but this is taken directly from Hallmark Cards - and they should know, right?)

The first known neckties were found around the necks of 7500 Chinese warrior's statues discovered in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi. (Online Ties.com)

Croatia is the mother country of the modern necktie, approximately 350 years ago. (Croatia - Homeland of cravats)

More than 600 million men wear ties on a regular basis. (Online Ties com)

Despite many noisy views to the contrary, television portrays fathers in a very poor light. This conclusion is the result of a study by the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) as reported in the American Family (AFA) Journal (and of course, by anyone who has been watching TV for the last 50 years).. (AFA Journal)

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Events on Father's Day:

The National 24-Hour Challenge is held on the weekend of Father's Day. Starting in 1983 with 18 riders, the event now draws roughly 500 cyclists from the United States and Canada who have completed a total of 1,387,737 miles since its beginning (in metric that would be a whole lot of kilopascals). (National 24-Hour Challenge)

Arnprior's Ottawa River Catfest, a 3 day fishing derby in which you receive a ticket for every catfish caught. Each ticket is a chance to win one of several pretty good prizes including the first place prize of a 14' boat. (Ottawa River Catfest)

Steam Whistle's Craft Beer Show & BBQ Cook-Off, takes place downtown Toronto in and around the North Market Building of the St. Lawrence Market Complex. Admission is free and sample tickets are sold for $1 each.(Steam Whistle)

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Famous Fathers:

Letters from fathers to sons: Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Graham Bell's letters to their children.

Uranus: The first father, born of Gaea (without any help). His fathering days were ended by his son Cronus who performed what may be considered the first vasectomy. Naturally, Cronus was a little paranoid of his own children and protected himself by eating them. Although we have no record of how his wife, Rhea, cooked them up, evidence suggests she may have used some kind of fruitcake recipe since, when she found a child she really liked (Zeus), she kept him alive by feeding Cronus a stone and he never noticed the difference. For more information, read Bartleby.com's Bulfinch's Mythology.

King Lear Not a bad man, but not so good with girls. He would have loved the idea of Father's Day.

Daddy Warbucks Not technically a daddy, but he still stands out as one of the only arms-dealing father figures to ever become a respectable pop-cult icon. Courtesy of The Official Little Orphan Annie Homepage.

Jim Anderson From 1954 to 1962, in Father Knows Best, he was every family's ideal father — good natured and easy to get around.

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People With "Daddy" In Their Name:

Big DaddyG: AKA Dave Glover, one of Canada's hottest blues musicians. A real Ontario success story.

Puff Daddy: Born with the name Sean Combs, this hip-hop singer made big headlines when he started hanging around with Jennifer Lopez. The shooting incident didn't hurt his publicity either. (Warning: lots of pop-ups.)

Sweet Daddy Siki: Although he was born in Montgomery, Texas, wrestler Reginald Siki moved to Toronto in 1961 simply for convenience. Once there, however, he declared, "My God, this is God's country" and Toronto has been his home ever since. Now, of course, he's no longer wrestling, but he still has a country & western band and works as a DJ.

Big Daddy's Crab Shack and Oyster Bar: Seafood restaurant with spots in Ottawa and Toronto.

Big Daddy Grace: Early 20th century "Black Messiah," founded the popular, and still extant, United House of Prayer For All People."

Daddy Long Fingaz: Bills himself as a "drum & bass DJ" and works out of Toronto. I think he plays records while putting his hands all over them.

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I Am My Own Grandpa: Lyrics to Lorenzo and Oscar's perennial favourite.

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Father's Day


On This Page

A Brief History
Timeline of Father's Day
Father's Day Flowers
Father's Day Trivia
Events on FD Weekend
Famous Fathers
People With 'Daddy' In Their Name
"I Am My Own Grandpa"


 Father's Day on the Net: Called "A celebration in honor of all fathers" it's got a batch of stuff.


 Wilstar's Father's Day Page: Wilstar's site is interesting, in a quiet sort of way, and you can visit him, or at least watch him and his family on their 24 hour live Web cam.


 Fathers Today: A Profile of Canadian Fathers: A look at Canadian fathers and the changes over the last 40 to 50 years. Much of it seems accurate, but no sources are cited.


 Father's Rights (Ontario): From the Canadian Lawyer Index, resources for father's seeking their rights in separation, divorce, unfair settlement packages etc. Includes links to the Human Rights Code and The Children's Voice (advocating equal access to both parents). Warning: Don't click on Shared Parenting Forum as the site is not yet complete and all you'll get are pop-ups.


 The Myth of the 'Rule of Thumb Law': (From the Canadian Lawyer Index.)You may have heard about the old English Common Law rule which allowed a husband to beat his wife with a whip or stick no bigger in diameter than his thumb. Very dramatic. Also very untrue.


 Fathers Direct: A British site with lots of information and helpful tips for fathers. Also includes the results of a 20 year research project into British fathers available in PDF format called Father Facts.


 Father's Day Gadget Gifts: Gadgets are good, especially ones like the Solar Dynamo Radio/Flashlight, Designated Driver Screwdriver, and Robomower.


 Yahoo's Society and Culture Links for Father's Day: with numerous links to Father's Day sites


 A Coming Out Guide for Gaydads: Richard Jasper has run this site on information and resources for Gay fathers since 1995.


 PFLAG Canada: Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays: Official site of PFLAG Canada, a resource and support group for ... well, for Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays. Ontario chapters by city, town and region are available here, some of which have Web sites, all of which have e-mails.


 Father's Day Poems for Free: Pretty much what it says. Father's Day poems. Free.


 The Father's Network: Organization for father's whose children have special needs. Includes Canadian branches.