The Lighter Side: Fun Mothering Facts

  • 1872 - Julia Ward Howe, who is a pacifist, suffragette, and writer of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," first suggests Mother's Day in the United States. She suggests the day as a day mothers could rally for peace and for several years, she holds an annual Mother's Day meeting in Boston.
  • 1908 - Anna Jarvis begins a campaign for a nationwide observance of Mother's Day in honor of her late mother, a community health advocate. Anna Jarvis was deeply dismayed over the commercialization of Mother's Day. Before she died in 1948, she admitted that she regretted ever starting the holiday.
  • Most children: Mrs. Vassilyev of Russia gave birth to 69 children between 1725 and 1765.
  • Oldest Mom: Rosanna Dalla Corte gave birth to a baby boy when she was 63 years old in Italy in 1994.
  • Heaviest Newborn: Signora Carmelina Fedele gave birth to a 22 lb 8 oz boy in Italy in 1955.
  • According to the Insure.com 2014 Mother's Day Index, various tasks Moms perform at home would be worth $62,985 (up from $59,862 in 2013) a year in the professional world.

Don’t forget to thank the “Mom” in your life!

Mothers Day Cartoon