What was the name of Sonora Smart Dodd’s father, whose six children inspired Father’s Day?

Sonora Smart Dodd’s father was William Jackson Smart, whose dedication to raising six children helped inspire Father’s Day.

Smart was a Civil War veteran and widower in Spokane, Washington. After his wife died, he raised his children by himself, an experience that led Dodd to argue that fathers deserved an observance comparable to Mother’s Day.

Dodd promoted the idea in the early 1900s, and Spokane held an early Father’s Day celebration on June 19, 1910. The observance gradually spread across the United States, although it took decades to gain official national recognition.

William Jackson Smart is sometimes confused with other figures connected with Father’s Day, especially Grace Golden Clayton, who organized a 1908 memorial service for fathers in Fairmont, West Virginia. Clayton’s event predates Spokane’s celebration, but Dodd’s campaign became the foundation of the modern holiday.