From the Archives: Presidents as Fathers

As you celebrate Dad this weekend, consider giving a nod to the Presidents who helped give him his own national holiday. On this day in 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first Presidential Father’s Day Proclamation. It set aside the third Sunday in June in celebration of fathers. Six years later, it became a permanent holiday by order of President Richard Nixon. Each year since then, the Presidents have issued yearly Father’s Day proclamations.

Presidents have enjoyed the day as fathers themselves, and over the years many children have enlivened the White House. Some presidents enter office as grandfathers, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt who had 13 grandchildren. Others, like current President Obama, are fathers to school age children.

In celebration of fathers everywhere, here’s an album of Presidents with the people who know them simply as “Dad” and “Granddad.” These photos are from the holdings of the Presidential Libraries of the U.S. National Archives. Archives Link

-Jeannie Chen is the Social Media Coordinator for the Office of Presidential Libraries at the U.S. National Archives.