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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for August 19, 2019

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By Scott Rasmussen

The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

August 19, 2019: Eighty years ago today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Orville Wright’s birthday to be National Aviation Day.[1]

Born in 1871, Orville was 32 when he and his brother Wilbur launched the first power-driven airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The brothers became known as the "fathers of modern aviation."[2]

Sadly, the Smithsonian Institute refused to acknowledge the Wright Brothers’ success for a quarter of a century. For years, they falsely claimed that their own plane was the first to fly. They also circulated rumors that the Wright Brothers didn’t really achieve flight. Those rumors were demolished when the two held countless air shows in Europe.

The Wright Brothers’ plane was not displayed at the Smithsonian until both Wilbur and Orville had died.


Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.


Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.

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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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