[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 125, 112th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
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,

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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 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.
BARACK OBAMA