Father's Day dates back to 1910 when it was conceived by Mrs. John B. Dodd of Spokane, Wash., and proclaimed for June 19 of that year by the mayor. The first presidential proclamation 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 1971.

Father's Day Gifts

Neckties head the list of Father's Day gifts. A good place to buy dad a tie or a shirt might be one of nearly 11,000 men's clothing stores around the country. Sales at men's clothing stores approached or exceeded $800 million in both May and June of last year.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-58.html>
<http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html>

Mr. Mom

105,000
Estimated number of "stay-at-home" dads. These are married fathers with children under 15 who are not in the labor force primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for 189,000 children in 2002. (From a soon-to-be-published report.)

2 million
Number of preschoolers cared for by their fathers more hours than by any other child-care provider while their mothers are at work. This amounts to about 1-in-5 preschoolers of employed mothers. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/child/ppl-168.html>

How Many Fathers?

25.8 million
Number of fathers who are part of married-couple families with own children under 18.

Among these —

• 2-in-10 are raising three or more of their own children under 18.


• 1-in-10 are raising their own infants under age 1.


• 1-in-8 are under 30.


• 4 percent are 55 or over.


• 2 percent live in the home of a relative or a nonrelative.


• 6-in-10 have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

2.0 million
Number of single fathers, up from 393,000 in 1970. There now is one single father for every six single parents, compared with 1-in-10 in 1970.

Among these fathers —

• 10 percent are raising three or more of their own children under 18.


• 45 percent are divorced; 34 percent have never married; 17 percent are married with an absent spouse; and 4 percent are widowed.


• 10 percent are raising their own infants under age 1. This percentage is not significantly different from the corresponding rate for fathers in married-couple families.


• 22 percent are under 30.


• 5 percent are 55 or over. This percentage is not significantly different from the corresponding rate for fathers in married-couple families.


• 13 percent live in the home of a relative or a nonrelative.


• 24 percent have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>

3-in-10
The ratio of children under 18 living with their single father who also resided in a household that included dad's unmarried partner. In contrast, only 1-in-10 children who lived with their single mother shared the home with mom's unmarried partner. (From a soon-to-be-published report.)