Proclamation 4475—Wright Brothers Day, 1976

On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, revolutionized transportation when they made the first successful flight in a heavier-than-air, powered aircraft. On that memorable day, 73 years ago, those two Americans laid the foundation for modern aviation. The phenomenal advances in aviation and space technology since that first successful adventure are now portrayed in the new National Air and Space Museum in our Nation's Capital.

It is particularly fitting to recognize, in this year of our Nation's Bicentennial, the determination and ingenuity displayed by the Wright brothers during the years of experimentation in developing their airplane. These traits are symbolic of the American spirit and of the American commitment to make this a better world.

To commemorate the historic achievements of the Wright brothers, the Congress, by a joint resolution of December 17, 1963 (77 Stat. 402, 36 U.S.C. 169), 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, Gerald R. Ford, 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, 1976, 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 twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and first.

GERALD R. FORD