The idea of Father’s Day was conceived by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration — June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

64.3 million
Estimated number of fathers across the nation. (From unpublished data.)

Remembering Dad

A good place to buy dad a tie or a shirt might be one of 8,685 men’s clothing stores around the country (as of 2005). <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/010192.html>

Other items high on the list of Father’s Day gifts are tools such as hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers. You could buy some of these items for dad at one of the nation’s 14,257 hardware stores or 5,925 home centers (as of 2005).
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/010192.html>

23,195
Number of sporting goods stores in 2005. These stores are good places to purchase traditional gifts for dad, such as fishing rods and golf clubs.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/010192.html>

More than 74 million Americans participated in a barbecue in the last year — it’s probably safe to assume many of these barbecues took place on Father’s Day. <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/>, 2007 edition, Table 1225.

Mr. Mom

159,000
Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2006. These married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained out of the labor force for more than one year primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for 283,000 children. Among these stay-at-home dads:

• 60 percent had two or more children.
• 40 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
• 35 percent had children younger than 3 living with them.

<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/009842.html>

How Many Fathers?

26.5 million
Number of fathers who are part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2006.

Among these —

• 22 percent are raising three or more children younger than 18 (among married-couple family households only).
• 2 percent live in someone else’s home.

<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/009842.html>

2.5 million
Number of single fathers in 2006, up from 400,000 in 1970. Currently, among single parents living with their children, 19 percent are men.

Among these fathers —

• 8 percent are raising three or more children younger than 18.
• About 40 percent each are divorced or never married, 16 percent are separated and 4 percent are widowed. (There is no significant difference between the percentages of single fathers who are divorced and never married.)
• 14 percent live in someone else’s home.
• 27 percent have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/009842.html>

Child-Support Payments

10%
Percentage of custodial parents due child support who were fathers. They numbered 740,000. <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/childsupport/childsupport.html>

$2.1 billion
Amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2003; they were due $3.3 billion. In contrast, custodial mothers received $23.3 billion of the $33.7 billion in support that was due.
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/childsupport/childsupport.html>

46%
Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due, not significantly different than the corresponding percentage for custodial mothers. Fathers received an average of $2,797 in child support in 2003, compared with $3,579 for mothers. <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/childsupport/childsupport.html>

Dining with Daddy

30%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living with married parents in 2003 who ate breakfast with their father every day. The corresponding number for children living with unmarried fathers was 41 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/children/009412.html>

64%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living with married parents who ate dinner with their fathers every day. The corresponding number for children living with unmarried fathers was 66 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/children/009412.html>

Kind Words from Dad

63%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living with married parents who were praised three or more times a day by their fathers. The corresponding number for children living with unmarried fathers was 57 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/children/009412.html>