[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 50 (Monday, December 18, 1995)]
[Pages 2181-2182]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6858--Wright Brothers Day, 1995

December 13, 1995

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Ninety-two years ago, Orville Wright manned the first sustained and 
controlled, machine-powered flight in an airplane he designed and built 
with his brother Wilbur. This extraordinary journey, though only 12 
seconds long, was the first great achievement

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of a partnership that revolutionized aviation and made remarkable 
contributions to aerodynamics, mechanical engineering, and practical 
flight techniques. The Wright brothers' pioneering efforts remain 
enduring examples of American ingenuity and perseverance.
    Today, the United States aviation industry helps to drive our 
economy and provides business and recreational opportunities to our 
citizens that were unthinkable just a century ago. Our reliance on air 
transit grows each year, challenging the aviation community and the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to meet new safety and operational 
demands.
    Our air transportation system, already the safest and most efficient 
in the world, continues to improve. In fact, efforts are underway to 
craft reforms that enhance the efficiency of the FAA so that America's 
leadership in air transportation, begun with the Wright brothers' 
historic flight on December 17, 1903, can continue well into the next 
century.
    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, 1995, as Wright 
Brothers Day.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day 
of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 14, 
1995]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
December 15.