February 18, 1882

Sonora Smart was born in Jenny Lind (Sebastian County), the daughter of William Jackson Smart, a farmer and Civil War veteran, and Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart. Sonora Louise Smart Dodd is known as the “Mother of Father’s Day.” In 1909, Dodd heard a church sermon about Mother’s Day, which had recently become a recognized holiday, and she wondered why there was no Father’s Day. On June 6, 1910, Dodd suggested establishing such a holiday to the Spokane Ministerial Association and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 19, 1910, fourteen days after Dodd’s father’s birthday.