Proclamation 4024—Wright Brothers Day, 1970

The names of Orville and Wilbur Wright symbolize American ingenuity and courage. On December 17, 1903—after years of experimentation and repeated failures—the Wright brothers made the first successful flight in a heavier-than-air, mechanically propelled airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

That epic flight was the forerunner of the aviation and space technology which today strengthens America's defense and contributes to better understanding throughout the world by promoting commerce and encouraging travel.

To commemorate the achievements of the Wright brothers, the Congress by a joint resolution of December 17, 1963 (77 Stat. 402), designated the seventeenth day of December of each year as Wright Brothers Day 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, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of this Nation, and their local and national government officials, to observe Wright Brothers Day, December 17, 1970, with appropriate ceremonies and activities, both to recall the accomplishments of the Wright brothers and to provide a stimulus to aviation in this country and throughout the world.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-fifth.

RICHARD NIXON