[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 20, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 79021-79022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32761]



[[Page 79019]]

Vol. 76

Tuesday,

No. 244

December 20, 2011

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 8767--Wright Brothers Day, 2011



Memorandum of December 15, 2011--Determinations Under Section 1106(a) 
of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988--Russian 
Federation
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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 20, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 79021]]

                Proclamation 8767 of December 15, 2011

                
Wright Brothers Day, 2011

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On a blustery December morning in 1903, two brothers 
                from Dayton, Ohio, successfully piloted the world's 
                first powered flying machine and ascended from the 
                steady currents of North Carolina's Outer Banks into 
                the heights of our collective memory. During the 12 
                seconds their aircraft remained aloft in Kitty Hawk's 
                gusty headwinds, Wilbur and Orville Wright sparked a 
                transportation revolution and fulfilled a dream shared 
                across cultures since time immemorial. Today, we 
                commemorate their extraordinary feat and celebrate the 
                spirit of American innovation that propels our Nation 
                toward bold new horizons.

                Fashioned from wood and cloth and powered by a four-
                cylinder engine they designed themselves, the Wright 
                brothers' Flyer I was the culmination of years of 
                painstaking research and unyielding perseverance. They 
                financed countless experiments with earnings from their 
                bicycle shop, gathering data on wing shape using a 
                home-built wind tunnel and developing the basic 
                controls for pitch, roll, and yaw that, to this day, 
                guide our jetliners to every corner of the world and 
                our spacecraft to the farthest reaches of the Solar 
                System. The technical obstacles they overcame were 
                tremendous, and Orville and Wilbur Wright's pioneering 
                vision stands as a testament to the will and 
                determination that fuels innovators, inventors, 
                scientists, and entrepreneurs across our country--from 
                home workbenches to national laboratories.

                As we pursue progress and prosperity in the 21st 
                century, we remember the key to our success has always 
                been our unparalleled ability to think up new ideas, 
                create new industries, and lead the way in discovery 
                and innovation--just as it was for the Wright brothers 
                over a century ago. To reaffirm our role as the engine 
                that drives science and technology around the world, we 
                must empower our Nation's youth with a competitive 
                education and the tools to make tomorrow's breakthrough 
                discoveries.

                On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright helped 
                inspire a century of progress and groundbreaking ideas 
                when they guided a small wooden aircraft above the 
                sands of Kitty Hawk and onto the ocean breeze. Even 
                after this monumental achievement, the brothers 
                continued to push the boundaries of flight and 
                possibility, rapidly advancing the field of aeronautics 
                and our burgeoning aviation industry. They inspired 
                other early aviators, including Calbraith Perry 
                Rodgers, who flew a Wright airplane to complete the 
                first transcontinental flight 100 years ago, and 
                Harriet Quimby, who became our Nation's first female 
                licensed pilot and a groundbreaking aviator. So, too, 
                must we press onward, exploring new frontiers of 
                science, technology, and imagination in pursuit of a 
                brighter future for generations to come. The Wright 
                brothers stand among America's most celebrated 
                innovators, and today, we recognize all those who look 
                toward the heavens and envision what might be.

                The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December 
                17, 1963, as amended (77 Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 143), has 
                designated December 17 of each year as ``Wright 
                Brothers Day'' and has authorized and requested the 
                President

[[Page 79022]]

                to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of 
                the United States to observe that day with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 
                17, 2011, as Wright Brothers Day.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-32761
Filed 12-19-11; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F2-P