Proclamation 5919 -- Wright Brothers Day, 1988

December 5, 1988

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Eighty-five years ago, above the sound of North Carolina's pounding surf, above the chattering of the sea gulls and terns, came the sound of progress; for over the sandy dunes of Kitty Hawk flew the first self-propelled, winged aero-vehicle. Hardly an imposing sight, it barely rose above the shore; and, in size, it bore little resemblance to the jumbo jets that would follow. In power, velocity, and payload, it was also but a hint of what was to come. But that aircraft, aloft for only a few moments, held promise far beyond its modest dimensions and capabilities. Eventually that promise became reality, yielding change that helped shrink the globe and bring the peoples of the world closer together. Rarely has mankind beheld an event foreshadowing such remarkable improvement for the benefit of us all. Today, we commemorate an idea that grew in the hearts and minds of the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, until it culminated in the famous flight that blazed a path into the future for America and the world.

The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December 17, 1963 (77 Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 169), has 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, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 17, 1988, as Wright Brothers Day, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, both to recall the achievements of the Wright Brothers and to stimulate aviation in this country and throughout the world.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:36 a.m., December 6, 1988]