Wilbur Wright Day
Join us for our Second Annual Wilbur Wright Day Celebration on April 14th, 2023.
#WilburWrightDay is Wilbur Wright's birthday. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867.
The Celebration will include a keynote speaker, a luncheon and a silent auction.
The event runs from 11AM-2PM and features Dr. Peter L. Jakab, Senior Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
The luncheon is open to the public and there will be a fee for the lunch.
Sponsors and partners will be recognized as part of the event. The event is free for First Flight Society Lifetime members, while individual members will get lunch at a discount. An additional highlight will be a silent auction to raise money for First Flight Society programs. The auction will include signed items from FFS Honorary Members.
Dr. Jakab is responsible for the NASM exhibit The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age, a major gallery featuring the original 1903 Wright Flyer.
His publications include the books Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990); The Published Writings of Wilbur and Orville Wright (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000), and The Wright Brothers and The Invention of the Aerial Age (National Geographic Society, 2003), the companion book to the exhibition.
The emcee of the luncheon is Paul Carr as “The Spirit of Wilbur Wright”. FFS President Mike Fonseca will do a short presentation about the future of the Society. Dr. Jakab will also be signing books after his presentation. Wilbur Wright Day is April 16th but this year the luncheon will be on the 14th. Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana, the middle child in a family of five children
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In 2023 the keynote will be a presentation by National Air and Space Senior Curator Dr. Peter Jakab.
Dr. Peter L. Jakab is a part-time Senior Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. He formerly served as Chief Curator and the Museum’s Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs. He has been with the Museum since 1983. He holds a BA, MA, and PhD in American history from Rutgers University. Areas of specialization include the history of technology, aerospace history, and American social and cultural history. Prior museum work includes stays at the Edison National Historic Site, West Orange, N.J., and the New Jersey Historical Commission. He also spent a year with the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project and two years teaching American history at Rutgers University during his graduate study. During his stay at the Museum, he has curated numerous exhibitions and frequently lectured on the history of technology; the history of invention; the Wright brothers and pioneer aviation; and First World War aviation. His exhibitions include Artist Soldiers: Artistic Expression in the First World War; Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex on the Flight of Birds, featuring the original da Vinci Codex; and The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age, a major gallery featuring the original 1903 Wright Flyer. His publications include the books Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990); Icare: revue de l’aviation française, #147, Les Frères Wright, 1994; The Published Writings of Wilbur and Orville Wright (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000), and The Wright Brothers and The Invention of the Aerial Age (National Geographic Society, 2003), the companion book to the exhibition.
Paul Carr embodies the Spirit of Wilbur Wright
Captain Paul Carr appears as The Spirit of Wilbur Wright and offers a personal story of his life growing up in Dayton, Ohio, the positive influences of his parents, and how the close relationship with his brother Orville combined to forge the path that led to their historical achievements.
Paul Carr is a retired airline Captain for Delta Airlines and a retired Air Force Colonel. He has over 40 years of aviation experience, having flown numerous aircraft including the B767/757, B737, MD88, L1011, KC-10, KC-135, T-37, and T-38. As Chief, Air Reserve Component, Air Force Future Concepts and Transformation Division he led a Pentagon group in exploring where military aviation is headed in the coming decades. He has had a life-long curiosity about the Wright Brothers and has been appearing as a Wilbur Wright story teller since 2002.
Wilbur Wright Day will be celebrated at Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks/ Kitty Hawk
Wilbur Wright Day is brought to you by the First Flight Society.