when was father day declared a national holiday
Father's Day (United States) A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913.[16] In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration[17] and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.[18] US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation.[17] Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress.[17][19] In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents".[19] In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.[18] Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.[3][17][18][19]