Wright Brothers Day (December 17) is a United States national observation. It is codified in the US Code, and commemorates the first successful flights in a heavier-than-air, mechanically propelled airplane, the Wright Flyer, that were made by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.[1] On September 21, 1959, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared December 17 to be Wright Brothers Day[2] pursuant to Public Law 86–304.[3] Following a similar joint resolution enacted in 1961,[4] the U.S. Congress made the designation permanent in 1963.[5]
Wright Brothers Day was announced as an official commemorative day in Ohio, on October 5, 2011.[citation needed]
Wright Brothers Day is celebrated every December 17 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.[citation needed] December 17, 2023, is the 120th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 36 U.S.C. § 143
- ^ "Proclamation 3315—Wright Brothers Day, 1959 | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Joint resolution designating the 17th day of December 1959 as "Wright Brothers Day" | H.J. Res. 513". www.Congress.gov. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Joint resolution designating the 17th day of December 1961 as "Wright Brothers Day" | H.J. Res. 109". www.Congress.gov. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Joint resolution designating the 17th day of December of each year as "Wright Brothers Day" | H.J. Res. 335". www.Congress.gov. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ House, The White (2023-12-15). "A Proclamation on Wright Brothers Day, 2023". The White House. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
External links
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