[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 51 (Monday, December 21, 1998)]
[Pages 2499-2500]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7160--Wright Brothers Day, 1998

December 17, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    On a December morning 95 years ago, over the windswept sands of 
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright turned humanity's 
age-old dream of powered flight into reality. The two brothers, bicycle 
mechanics by trade and visionaries by nature, had worked painstakingly 
for years to construct the first power-driven craft that was heavier 
than air and capable of controlled, sustained flight. After persevering 
through many trials and discouraging setbacks, they made their fourth 
trip to Kitty Hawk in 1903 and, on December 17, with Orville at the 
controls and Wilbur running alongside, their airplane took flight and 
took us into a new era. The achievement of the Wright brothers was not 
only a great personal success and a vindication of years of creative 
effort and methodical experimentation--it was also a feat of historic 
significance for the future of humankind.
    Almost a century later, the same passion and power of imagination 
that spurred the Wright brothers are fueling the dreams of a new 
generation of Americans. From John Glenn's second historic space flight 
to the construction of the International Space Station, we continue to 
open new frontiers and expand our horizons. Just as the Wright brothers' 
inventions and achievements created a new industry and revolutionized 
transportation, commerce, and communication, today's missions into space 
hold great promise for the development of new technologies and 
industries to benefit all humanity and strengthen our hopes for lasting 
peace and prosperity for nations across the globe.

[[Page 2500]]

    This November, I was pleased to sign into law the Centennial of 
Flight Commemoration Act, which establishes a commission to coordinate 
the celebration in 2003 of the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' 
first flight. The commission's activities will raise public awareness of 
the enormous contributions of the Wright brothers to human progress; 
remind the world of the triumph of American ingenuity, inventiveness, 
and diligence in developing new technologies; and inspire all Americans 
to recognize that the daring, creativity, and spirit of adventure 
reflected in the achievement of the Wright brothers will be crucial to 
the success of our Nation in the 21st 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, 1998, as Wright 
Brothers Day.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day 
of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 21, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
December 22.