Proclamation 3821—Wright Brothers Day, 1967

December 17 will mark the 64th anniversary of powered flight.

It is difficult to believe that two pioneering brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, made the first successful flight in a heavier-than-air, mechanically propelled airplane just a little over threescore years ago. Few developments in technology have been so rapid as that of flight—from the frail craft at Kitty Hawk to the great jet planes and space capsules of today.

The Wright brothers' epic flight—in a plane they designed, built, and flew themselves—lasted less than a minute. But their inventive genius revolutionized transportation, and gave rise to great new industries that have strengthened America's defense and economy.

The names of Orville and Wilbur Wright symbolize American ingenuity and courage, and it is right that we should commemorate their achievements. To this end, the Congress by a joint resolution approved December 17, 1963 (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, Lyndon B. Johnson, 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, 1967, 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 sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-second.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON