Proclamation 3947—Wright Brothers Day, 1969

Over the centuries, man dreamed a great dream—to break his bondage to the earth and fly through the sky. The Greeks told of Icarus who almost succeeded, but who paid for failure with his life. The dream took shape in the mind of the Renaissance Man, da Vinci, who drew designs for a flying machine, but who never flew. But the dream was always there, and always man worked to make the dream a reality.

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the dream a hard scientific fact. Orville stepped from a homemade contraption onto an ocean beach in the State of North Carolina, after completing the first successful airplane flight.

Almost sixty-six years later, another man stepped from another craft onto another plain. This plain was the waterless Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. Man had not only removed his bondage to the earth, but had expanded his horizons to outer space.

During these sixty-six years since the Wright brothers made man's first powered flight, aviation has revolutionized our way of life. Today, aviation is the servant of man, bringing the world closer together and making its parts more accessible. Tomorrow, aviation promises greater service, greater contributions, and new vistas for each of us.

The names of Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright symbolize America's pioneering leadership in aviation. With countless other men of all nations, they represent mankind's ceaseless effort to make dreams reality.

It is fitting that we should commemorate the achievements of the Wright brothers. The Congress, by Public Law 88-209 (77 Stat. 402), has designated the seventeenth day of December of each year as Wright Brothers Day and has 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, 1969, 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 eleventh day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred sixty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-fourth.

RICHARD NIXON