“Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.” – Anne Geddes

June 15, 2014 is Father’s Day, a celebration of honoring fathers that began in the United States in 1910, and is celebrated each year on the third Sunday of June.

Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, was the driving force behind the establishment of Father’s Day. In 1909, Ms. Dodd, whose father raised his six children alone after the death of their mother, listened to a sermon about Mother’s Day and felt that fathers deserved a similar day honoring them. She began promoting the celebration, raising awareness at a national level. Attempts to formally recognize the holiday were introduced to Congress but were defeated as Congress feared Father’s Day would become too commercialized.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, declaring the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Six years later, Father’s Day was made a national holiday when President Nixon signed it into law.

Father’s Day is widely observed on various dates around the world, and typically consists of small family gatherings with cards and gifts. Father’s Day gifts on which Americans will spend the most money are clothing, electronics, tools, and sporting goods, with the necktie being the most popular.