“One of the greatest gifts my father gave me—unintentionally—was witnessing the courage with which he bore adversity…He was always unshaken, completely tranquil, the same ebullient, laughing, jovial man.” – Ben Okri

By the time Father’s Day was proclaimed an official holiday in 1972, it had already been unofficially celebrated for 63 years—since Sonora Smart Dodd, who was raised by a single father after her mother’s untimely death, was inspired by a Methodist sermon to commemorate a day that would be dedicated specifically to fathers. With the holiday a few days away, this week we honor the admirable fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, and all the men in our own lives who have raised us, inspired us, and positively affected our lives in a myriad of invaluable ways.

Jackson Pollock’s letter from his dad

“I want them to remember that they were loved.” Two fathers’ experiences with foster care.

The data behind stay-at-home-dads

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

“Doing the Best I Can. Fatherhood in the Inner City.”

The history of Father’s Day on the Journal

Martin Luther King, Sr. on his son’s death

Portrait of my Father Wilhelm Kahlo by Frida Kahlo

Find ready-to-ship gifts for dad in our Cook + Dine section, like Sean Brock’s Heritage cookbook or the Smithey Cast Iron Skillet.

In Alabama: “Beef for Father’s Day”