[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66251-66252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33269]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 243 / Thursday, December 18, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 66251]]
Proclamation 7061 of December 16, 1997
Wright Brothers Day, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright lay inside the
first heavier-than-air powered craft that permitted
controlled flight. His brother Wilbur stood nearby,
steadying the craft at one wing tip. In a few moments,
the brothers would know if their years of hard work and
painstaking experimentation would finally bear fruit.
With Wilbur running beside the plane to build its
momentum, Orville achieved, for a scant 12 seconds over
a distance of 120 feet, what humankind had always
dreamed of--he flew.
That historic moment marked the first step in a long
journey through the skies that would ultimately take
Americans beyond Earth's atmosphere and into space. The
Mars Pathfinder spacecraft that captured the world's
attention and imagination this past summer reflects the
same American ingenuity and pioneering spirit that sent
the Wrights' fragile craft aloft so briefly over Kitty
Hawk almost a century ago. With unwavering perseverance
in the face of many failures, steady conviction in the
possibility of flight, and a determination to bring
their vision to reality, the Wright brothers expanded
our horizons and also brought the world closer
together.
We are still reaping the benefits of their
extraordinary achievement. America's aerospace industry
has experienced enormous growth and development since
the Wright brothers' first flight. It has strengthened
our economy, created new business and recreational
opportunities, freed us from many of the limits of time
and distance, and made our Nation's aviation system the
finest in the world. And thanks in large part to the
efforts of the men and women throughout the Federal
Government--in the Departments of Transportation and
Defense, the National Transportation Safety Board, and
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--that
system is also the safest in the world.
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December
17, 1963 (77 Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 169), has designated
December 17 of each year as ``Wright Brothers Day'' and
has authorized 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.
[[Page 66252]]
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim December
17, 1997, as Wright Brothers Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-second.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-33269
Filed 12-17-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
