[Title 3 CFR 7061]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - January 1, 1998 Edition]
[Title 3 - Presidential Documents]
[Proclamation 7061 - Proclamation 7061 of December 16, 1997]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


3Presidential Documents11998-01-011998-01-01false7061Proclamation 7061Presidential Documents
Proclamation 7061 of December 16, 1997

Wright Brothers Day, 1997

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright lay inside the first heavier-than-
air powered craft that permitted controlled flight. His brother Wilbur 
stood nearby, steadying the craft at one wing tip. In a few moments, the 
brothers

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would know if their years of hard work and painstaking 
experimentation would finally bear fruit. With Wilbur running beside the 
plane to build its momentum, Orville achieved, for a scant 12 seconds 
over a distance of 120 feet, what humankind had always dreamed of--he 
flew.
That historic moment marked the first step in a long journey through the 
skies that would ultimately take Americans beyond Earth's atmosphere and 
into space. The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft that captured the world's 
attention and imagination this past summer reflects the same American 
ingenuity and pioneering spirit that sent the Wrights' fragile craft 
aloft so briefly over Kitty Hawk almost a century ago. With unwavering 
perseverance in the face of many failures, steady conviction in the 
possibility of flight, and a determination to bring their vision to 
reality, the Wright brothers expanded our horizons and also brought the 
world closer together.
We are still reaping the benefits of their extraordinary achievement. 
America's aerospace industry has experienced enormous growth and 
development since the Wright brothers' first flight. It has strengthened 
our economy, created new business and recreational opportunities, freed 
us from many of the limits of time and distance, and made our Nation's 
aviation system the finest in the world. And thanks in large part to the 
efforts of the men and women throughout the Federal Government--in the 
Departments of Transportation and Defense, the National Transportation 
Safety Board, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--
that system is also the safest in the world.
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December 17, 1963 (77 Stat. 
402; 36 U.S.C. 169), has designated December 17 of each year as ``Wright 
Brothers Day'' and has authorized and requested the President to issue 
annually a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to 
observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of 
America, do hereby proclaim December 17, 1997, as Wright Brothers Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of 
December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-second.
                                                    WILLIAM J. CLINTON  

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                            EXECUTIVE ORDERS

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