    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 134, 116th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 10127 of December 16, 2020
    Wright Brothers Day, 2020
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation
    On this day 117 years ago, for a few short seconds over 120 feet of
    wind-swept beach in North Carolina, Orville Wright became the first
    person to achieve sustained, controlled, powered, and manned flight,
    forever altering the course of human history. The flying machine Orville
    piloted, which he and his brother Wilbur designed and constructed
    following years of research and testing, propelled mankind off the
    ground and into the skies. Today, we honor these tenacious and intrepid
    pioneers who paved the way for American leadership in aviation.
    The story of the Wright Brothers reflects the quintessential American
    values of perseverance, courage, and sheer grit. Neither Wilbur nor
    Orville graduated high school. Both brothers, however, possessed a
    fascination with new technology and mechanics. They taught themselves
    engineering through their work in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio.
    Using a homemade wind tunnel, they collected data and developed new
    designs for propellers and wings, oversaw the creation of a new,
    specially made engine, and invented an innovative system for steering
    manned aircraft, solving problems that had plagued previous attempts at
    powered flight. Through trial and error and hundreds of test flights in
    gliders and prototypes, the Wright Brothers, in true American fashion,
    pushed beyond the boundaries of human discovery and exploration. Their
    tireless dedication and unyielding determination testify to the power of
    human ingenuity and produced a revolution in transportation, national
    defense, and global economic development.
    The Wright Brothers' pursuits also established America's role as the
    world's foremost aviation leader and set the stage for future
    generations of American flight heroes. Just 24 years after the Wright
    Brothers' first flight, Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly
    solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, and 5 years later Amelia Earhart
    became the first woman to accomplish that same feat. Just a few weeks
    ago, our Nation mourned the loss of another aviation legend, Brigadier
    General Chuck Yeager. In a rocket plane named ``Glamorous Glennis'';
    after his beloved wife, Yeager flew at speeds in excess of 700 miles per
    hour, breaking the sound barrier for the first time in human history.
    This in-

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    credible feat occurred a mere 44 years after the Wright Brothers'
    first flight achieved a top airspeed of just 34 miles per hour. In 1969,
    22 years after Yeager's flight, Neil Armstrong, an Ohioan like the
    Wright Brothers, became the first person to ever set foot on the lunar
    surface, thrusting American leadership in flight beyond the Earth's
    atmosphere. And, earlier this year, the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration (NASA) launched a commercially built and operated
    spacecraft to the International Space Station from American soil for the
    first time.
    With the same spirit that took the Wright Brothers into the sky, our
    brave astronauts are once again redefining the limits of human knowledge
    and discovery.
    December 17th is forever enshrined as the day the Wright Brothers
    launched a new era of American greatness. Today, as we reflect on the
    immeasurable influence the Wright Brothers had upon our society and the
    world, we resolve to continue breaking barriers, setting new horizons,
    and building a better and brighter future for all. In the years to come,
    Americans must continue to press further on the boundaries of sky and
    space and forge new frontiers for American success, just as Orville and
    Wilbur Wright courageously did more than a century ago.
    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, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
    America, do hereby proclaim December 17, 2020, as Wright Brothers Day.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of
    December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    fifth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP