(CNN.com) The idea for Father’s Day sprang from the mind of one woman who thought that fathers, just like mothers, deserved their own holiday. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, celebrated the first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910 – her father’s birthday.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge publicly supported a national Father’s Day, and in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed it a national holiday. Following up in 1972, President Richard Nixon signed a permanent U.S. Father’s Day into law, observed on the third Sunday in June.
The idea for Father’s Day sprang from the mind of one woman who thought that fathers, just like mothers, deserved their own holiday. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, celebrated the first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910 – her father’s birthday.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge publicly supported a national Father’s Day, and in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed it a national holiday. Following up in 1972, President Richard Nixon signed a permanent U.S. Father’s Day into law, observed on the third Sunday in June.
Father’s Day is also the fourth-largest card-sending occasion. Here’s a breakdown of the other intriguing numbers that follow this holiday.
70.1 million – The estimated number of fathers in the United States
24.7 million – The number of married men with children under 18 at home in the United States
1.7 million – The number of single fathers in the United States in 2011.
170,000 – The number of single fathers raising three or more children.
176,000 – Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in the U.S. in 2011.
94 million – Estimated number of Father’s Day cards exchanged annually, according to Hallmark.
$117.14 – Estimated amount that the average person will spend on Father’s Day gifts in 2012, according to the National Retail Federation.
$12.7 billion – Estimated amount that consumers will spend on Father’s Day cards and gifts in 2012.
1910 – The first Father’s Day is celebrated in Spokane, Washington.
1972 – The year President Richard Nixon signed the law that designates the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.Father’s Day, By the Numbers
