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.
[citation needed] Wright Brothers Day is celebrated every December 17 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.[6] (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies