The evolution of fatherhood
The evolution of fatherhood
6,000 years ago by some accounts — but they vary: Adam
When he ate the apple, the man who was destined to be father of all mankind established a behavior exhibited in dads throughout the ages — “do whatever your mother tells me to.”
1,938 years after the creation of the world: Abraham
He may be the father of the Jewish people, but it wasn’t so great to be his sons. His first kid, Ishmael, was thrown out of the house as a teenager, and he came close to killing his second son, Isaac.
5th century BC: Oedipus
The story of a man destined to kill his father and marry his mother suggests there’s no escaping one’s fate as a dad.
25 BC, plus or minus six or seven years or so: Joseph
Jesus’ father. He was technically a stepfather, but he still had to deal with late-night feedings.
768: Charlemagne
Charlemagne became King of the Franks in 768 and went on to unite most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans. This led him to be considered the figurative father of Europe. He had 20 biological children during his lifetime, making him the actual father of a lot of Europe as well.
1608: King Lear
Shakespeare’s cautionary tale, published in 1608, about a king who promises to leave his kingdom to the daughters who love him most is a reminder that asking your offspring to compete for your affections can only lead to one thing — madness.
1776: Adam Smith
The Scottish economist published “The Wealth of Nations,” in 1776, and became the universally acknowledged father of capitalism and modern economics. He never had children, and who can blame him — it is undoubtedly difficult to conceive an economic theory and children at the same time.
1775: George Washington
We all know about the cherry tree, but did you know the father of our nation, who was sworn into office in 1775, was unable to have any natural children of his own? Historians think a bout of smallpox may have led to sterility.
1813: Mr. Bennett
The father of a gaggle of daughters in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” published in 1813, Mr. Bennett is the iconic distracted dad who retired to his study whenever the conversation turned too silly for him to bear. But he wasn’t uncaring — he was there to offer wise advice when his elder (and more grounded) daughters needed him.
1843: Bob Cratchit
Father of the sickly Tiny Tim, employee of the terrible Scrooge, poor Cratchit had it rough there for a while. But thanks to those three Christmas ghosts, at least he got a free Christmas turkey in the end.
1905: Frank Bunker Gilbreth Sr.
Gilbreth was an early advocate of scientific management — studying workers’ movements and trying to figure out how to streamline them, but you may remember him as the real-life father of 12 children — a role recorded in the book “Cheaper By the Dozen.”
1926: A.A. Milne
Playwright, author, father — A.A. Milne’s Pooh stories (“Winnie the Pooh” was published in 1926) were inspired by his son Christopher Robin and his various toys. They seem like a sweet testament to a little boy and his playthings, but Milne apparently was annoyed by the book’s success. He did not like to consider himself a children’s book author.
1949: Jim Anderson of “Father Knows Best”
The quintessential family drama of the 1950s, “Father Knows Best” began as a radio program in 1949 and moved to TV in 1954. “Father” was Jim Anderson (played by Robert Young), an insurance salesman who occasionally lost his temper, made mistakes and it turned out, only rarely knew best.
1960: Atticus Finch
The main character in Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” published in 1960, is dignified, honest, smart and caring. Too bad he was a work of fiction.
1978: Phillip Drummond
Phillip Drummond, played by Conrad Bain, on the show “Diff’rent Strokes,” which went on the air in 1978, was the millionaire father of Kimberly (his biological daughter) and the adopted father of Willis and Arnold, two brothers from Harlem. We remember lots of heart-to-heart talks on the brothers’ bunk beds and in the living rooms. Mr. D. was awfully understanding for a Park Avenue millionaire.
1984: Bill Cosby
From 1984 to 1992, Bill Cosby played Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, obstetrician and arguably the funniest dad on television. Who didn’t long to be one of his five offspring?
1987: Bob Saget
Bob Saget became an unlikely role model of fatherhood in the late ‘80s through 1995 as the single dad at the center of “Full House.” The show revolved around three single men caring for three little girls. In real life, Saget’s comedy probably wouldn’t make it past network censors.
1989: Homer Simpson:
Fat, balding, lazy and dumb Homer Simpson still manages to be lovable — even as an incompetent nuclear factory worker and clueless father. Maybe it’s because he’s animated.
1991: George Banks
In the 1991 film “Father of the Bride,” Steve Martin played George Banks, an anxious father whose increasing frustration with the elaborate (and expensive) wedding he is throwing for his daughter masks how hard it is for him to deal with her growing up. Hilarious scrapes abound.
2000: Richard Williams
The father of two of the tennis world’s most formidable players, Richard Williams saw his daughters start to dominate the sport in 2000. He famously got his girls involved in the sport at a tennis court in Compton as a way for them to have a better life. Lucky for these two athletes their dad had vision.
2002: Ozzy Osbourne
Heavy metal dad Ozzy Osbourne allowed the world a peek into his surprisingly mundane domestic life with his wife Sharon and kids Kelly and Jack (his eldest daughter, Aimee, refused to participate). Osbourne seemed stoned throughout the filming of the show, and later revealed to a media outlet that, in fact, he was.
2006: Billy Ray Cyrus
He starred with daughter Miley in the Disney sensation “Hannah Montana” series, and then famously told GQ in March 2011 that the show had ruined his family’s life. Not long after he backtracked, telling the ladies of “The View” it was fame, and not Disney, that ruined his family’s life.
2008: Jim Bob Duggar
Jim Bob Duggar started off as one of the main characters in the reality TV series “17 Kids and Counting” which morphed into “18 Kids and Counting” and was just recently renamed “19 Kids and Counting.” He’s so busy his kids have to make appointments to talk to him.
