A photographic journey of dads through the past 100 years.
For the 100th Anniversary of Father’s Day, we’re highlighting a picture of a dad from every year for the past 100 years. Behold our “Father Timeline,” a salute to dads everywhere.
Want to know more about any particular photo? Click on the year to view the original photograph:
1911 Olentangy River, Columbus, Ohio. “Dad was in graduate school at The Ohio State University.”
1912 Arkansas. Grandfather Austin and family. “My mother is the baby on the left.”
1913 Wisconsin. Guy “Pops” Blaisdell, a schoolteacher and insurance salesman. Daughter Betty went on to graduate from Smith College and work as an editor at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.
1914 Oklahoma, sharecropper.
1915 Russian Revolutionary poet Konstanty Galczynski (left), his brother Mietek, and their parents, Konstanty and Wanda.
1916 Northeast of Asher, Oklahoma. The JT Holt Family.
1917 Dr. Bartholomew Hoye and wife Leona Mary Wolf and son Barty, age 4.
1918 Kaarlo Pernaa and Lempi Jarvinen, Finnish immigrants.
1919 Colorado Springs. “A photo of my grandfather and my father.”
1920 East Valley Highway, Washington State. Mrs. Nami Ito, Mr. Matsuyuki Ito, and baby Sachi. The Itos operated the Thomas Grocery and Shell Service Station, with a barbershop run by Mrs. Nami in the back of the store.
1921 “The only picture I have of my grandpa Eick, with my cousins Helen & Loretta Daley. I never really knew these cousins–they were much older than I. One became a Carmelite nun.”
1922 Columbus, Ohio. “Dad leaving on a trip from the alley, probably late winter. I assume Mother took the photo of their 1921 Dodge roadster.”
1923 Frank George and William Albert.
1924 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Devil’s Den Rocks. “Summer Touring.” The vehicle is probably a 1922 Durant.
1925 Wilberton, Oklahoma. “My father Fred, and Elaise.”
1926 New York City. Grandpa Sam. “He’s 21 in the picture.”
1927 Colorado. “Grandparents and dad the youngest, far right. Dry farming, hard to believe they plowed out a living, Grapes of Wrath stuff.”
1928 Kansas City. Paul, held by his father Owen.
1929 La Have, Nova Scotia. Don and dad.
1930 Ray with father.
1931 John and Noel.
1932 “My grandfather with my dad, in 1932.”
1933 Waikiki Beach. Step-grandfather.
1934 “Sacramento to Yellowstone in my grandparents’ Chrysler Imperial.”
1935 Jackson Park; “Mom & her brownie again… Dad holding me and sister Barbara.”
1936 Dolgeville. Harlow Clifford, December.
1937 Grey Street, North Shields. Lewis H. Wigham, Capt. John H. Wigham Sr., and John H. Wigham Jr. on his 17th birthday, about to leave for sea.
1938 “Mum, dad, and me.”
1939 Laramie, Wyoming. “A place of vast spaces and often lonely ones. All day we had followed the old Oregon Trail.”
1940 “Mum and dad before we were born… Very stylish, especially for those post-war years of austerity.”
1941 “My dad’s dad. Looking dapper, indeed.”
1942 “One of the earliest pictures of the three of us. I was about 4 months old.”
1943 “Dad, back when he was a U.S. Army Air Corps flight instructor.”
1944 “Me, mom, and dad.”
1945 Keene, New Hampshire. Colorado Street. “Dad home on leave with mom.”
1946 Lake Rosseau, Muskoka, Ontario. “My dad, Herb.”
1947 Inwood Hill Park, New York. “Dad and Teddy.”
1948 “Carol, Dennis, and dad.”
1949 “Mom and dad, dating.”
1950 “My parents leaving their wedding reception.”
1951 “George and Marie.”
1952 “Mom and Dad’s wedding.”
1953 “Dad and Wayne.”
1954 “Dad, with me at 4 1/2 months old.”
1955 “Mom and Dad, October.”
1956 Texas. Coach Don Coleman and his son Brandon.
1957 Yellowknife. “My dad… pretty cool dude.
1958 “In the kitchen. Dad and Tom.”
1959 “Daryl and Dad.”
1960 Hal and Susie.
1961 An unknown port, somewhere in England. “My mom shot this while she was pregnant with me.”
1962 Bets, Pat, and Ginny with their dad.
1963 “Harlem Father.”
1964 “With Dad on Christmas.”
1965 Tom, Mark, and Anna.
1966 “My father.”
1967 Dad cooking. “And check out that hat.”
1968 Lytle, Tx. Roy with his Dad before middle school graduation.
1969 “With Dad at lake.”
1970 Patricia and Dad.
1972 “My father and my brother.”
1973 Dad and me. “It’s not just that it’s charming (can you believe how red that old couch looks in this pic?), but also showcases Dad’s early 70’s threads. Excellent.”
1974 “At the lake with Dad and Kris… My dad was 40 in this picture, 4 years younger than I am today.”
1975 On the Moray Firth coast, Scotland. “Dad and me.”
1976 “To you, Dad! My father with new-born me.”
1977 “In front of the Christmas tree. My father Mike and my older brother Jim.”
1978 “My father, at age 30, and my sister, 6 and a half.”
1979 “Me, with my sister, my dad ,and his dog Sabina… One of the very few pictures I have of my late father.”
1981 Yosemite. “I was falling apart at the moment, having been recently dumped by my girlfriend (for my best friend).”
1982 “My dad and I, New Year’s.”
1983 “Not a great picture, but getting a photograph of dad was always difficult.”
1984 Trinity County, Northern California. The Morris’s are 6th generation descendants of miners and ranchers who settled there in the 1870’s.
1985 Rebecca and dad.
1986 Michael and his father, Harold Pellegrino.
1987 “This picture is dad doin’ my hrrr, in 1987. I now go use the slogan ‘unkempt broad’ to describe myself. No reflection on dad, honest.”
1988 “Me in the Phillies hat, my brother with popcorn, dad at the Vet.”
1989 Mike, Lauren and dad.
1990 Dad. “Always a big kid at heart, I’ll always remember the distinct lilt of his laughter, the unique beam of his proud smile.”
1991 Crooked River, fly fishing. Switters and Tony.
1992 Los Angeles, the intersection of Florence and Normandie.
1993 “Call me dad… Me, Maeve and Jack. Neither my nor Maeve’s hair is that curly anymore.”
1994 Latavia. “Jack and my father, distant cousins with a striking resemblance to each other.”
1995 Stephen was 32 years old when he was diagnosed with ALS. Told he only had two to five years to live, he went ahead with plans to marry his fiancée and start a family. He defied the odds, lived for almost ten years, and had two children. Maddison is shown here.
1996 On top of Half Dome in Yosemite with Dad.
1997 Jacob at age 5 and dad
1998 West Virginia, father and son.
1999 “My mom and dad during the holidays.”
2000 Maurice with his father, jazz pianist and composer Jean Cahen.
2001 University of Chicago graduation. Father and Son.
2002 “Brian and Alexis chilling on the couch on NYE. Brian’s already yawning at 7:30 pm.”
2003 Father and son. “Those eyes.”
2004 Papa. My favorite family photo.
2005 Family trip to India all the way from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
2007 Dad and daughter on a visit to the US from Malaysia.
2008 Egypt. Mohammed and Father.
2009 Day 1: Daddy. And so it begins, the 365-day task.
2010 Morro Bay, CA. Father and son surf lesson.
A note about photographic rights: Many of these images are licensed through a Creative Commons Attribution license. Others were used with written permission from the families. Thank you, all who helped contribute. If you believe a photo has been used in error, please contact [email protected].
Our “Father Timeline” image can be downloaded as PDF, below. You can view full screen, or log onto Scribd to download.
This came out awesome! There are some amazing moments in there – very heart warming.
What an amazing tribute…I found this link via SwittersB and I think it is amazing what you are doing here. Thank you for sharing and taking the time.
Hi, I am glad you were able to use my photograph for “1916!” However, a correction: The photograph is of the JT Holt family, not Hold. And the link is not working.
An interesting project. I’m glad you put it together. Thanks!
Hi Brad, sorry! The name has been corrected. The link appears to work from our end — it goes straight to your page on Flickr, but we re-linked it just in case. Thanks for being a part of this.
It takes a good woman to understand a good man.
You will always be my good friend. Thank you, Lisa.