Year: 1928

January 31. Orville ships the Wright 1903 airplane to the Science Museum, London, for exhibit there for a period of five years. The plane arrived in England February 21 aboard the Minnewaska. The plane was sent by him "as a means of self-protection in overcoming propaganda in disparagement of us broadcast by the Smithsonian at Government expense."

February 8. Orville is guest of honor at annual dinner and meeting of Miami Valley Traffic Club in Dayton.

February 12. Emil Ludwig designates Orville as one of four greatest living Americans. Orville was chosen because he and Wilbur created by methods "so original and bold that they might have come from the pages of Homer. The sublime quality in Wright is, after all, not lightning flash of genius; it is the immensity of perseverance, the sure faith in reaching the sought for goal, and the courage to rise again and again."

February 21. Sefton Brancker, of the British Air Ministry, informs Orville, in letter, of the arrival in England of the 1903 Wright airplane, shipped in January.

February 29. Representative John J. McSwain, of South Carolina, introduces H.J. Res. 224, to ascertain which was the first heavier-than-air flying machine and providing for a commission of five persons to hear evidence on this question. The resolution passed on House May 16.

March. In article in U.S. Air Services Orville gives his reasons for sending the 1903 Wright airplane to a British museum. He says his doing so "because of the hostile and unfair attitude shown towards us by the officials of the Smithsonian Institution."

March 3. Smithsonian Institution offers to change the label on the Langley machine if Orville will state that this is being done as a friendly gesture and agrees that it will give proper honor to the Wright 1903 airplane if deposited there. Orville does not accept this offer.

March 4. In statement to press Orville says changing of label on the Langley Aerodrome would not correct other false statements previously made by the Smithsonian Institution. He asks for an investigation by an impartial body of the charges that he has made against the conduct of the Smithsonian Institution.

March 15. Board of Regents of Smithsonian Institution passes resolution declaring that "to the Wright brothers belongs the credit of making the first successful flight with a power-propelled heavier-than-air machine carrying a man."

March 20. Wright 1903 airplane installed and exhibited for the first time in England when new galleries of the Science Museum, South Kensington, London, are opened in ceremony attended by King George V and Queen Mary.

During the tour that followed, the King and Queen showed special interest in the Wright airplane.

March 23. War Department Appropriations Act approved on this date includes an appropriation of $25,000 to commence Wright Memorial at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

April 27. Representative Roy G. Fitzgerald, of Ohio, and Charles G. Abbot, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, testify in House Committee on Military Affairs hearing on the first heavier-than-air flying machine, discussing points at issue and introducing into the record pertinent statements and documents.

May 2. Shaft, carved by F.A. Berry, marking the spot where Wilbur Wright began the assembly of the first glider, unveiled by the citizens of Kitty Hawk. Capt. William J. Tate, first host of the Wrights at Kitty Hawk, speaks of his early association with the brothers in the period 1900-1903.

May 7. Cleveland Board of Education names new junior high school under construction "Wilbur Wright Junior High School."

May 16. Orville and Charles I. Lawrance, airplane engine builder, honored at luncheon and reception given by the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. In the afternoon Orville attends Medal Meeting of the Franklin Institute and in the evening attends dinner given in honor of the medalists.

May 21. Orville among delegation meeting Prof. Arthur H. Compton, physicist and Nobel Prize winner, on his arrival in Dayton to speak at Engineers' Club of Dayton.

May 23. Representative W. Frank James, of Michigan, introduces H.R. 13990 to authorize the President to present the Distinguished Flying Cross to Orville. The bill passed the House December 13, 1928.

June 4. Series of more than 30 metal airfoil models used by Wright brothers in their earliest experiments loaned by Orville and exhibited at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum on the occasion of the dedication of the new Daniel Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory in Boston, Mass.

June 10-12. French air commission headed by Gen. Paul Boucabeille, visiting Dayton, honors Wilbur by having tricolor cushion of flowers placed on his grave.

June 13. U.S. Court of Claims dismisses suit brought against the government by the heirs of John J. Montgomery, whose patents were alleged to have been infringed by Wilbur and Orville Wright.

June 15. Orville, as member, attends meeting of Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, Inc., at home of Harry F. Guggenheim, Port Washington, Long Island.

July 16-17. Mrs. Léon Bollée, widow of Léon Bollée, French automobile manufacturer associated with Wilbur during his flights in France in 1908, and her daughter Countess Elizabeth Jean de Vautibault are guests of Orville in Dayton.

September 23. NBC network devotes hour-long program to Orville, in which William G. Shepherd, Collier's staff writer, and Representative John J. McSwain, of South Carolina, pay tribute to him.

September 29. Smithsonian Institution publishes The Relations Between the Smithsonian Institution and the Wright Brothers by the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Charles G. Abbot, in effort to clarify the controversy with Orville and to correct errors and statements previously made. This publication was announced to the press in a Scientific News Service release by the Smithsonian Institution on September 30.

Orville prepares statement for publication which was released on September 30 in which he declares that Dr. Abbot's The Relations Between the Smithsonian Institution and the Wright Brothers fails to settle the points at issue in the controversy.

October. Orville serves on executive council of Hoover-for-President Engineers' Committee, organized for the purpose of aiding in the election of Hebert Hoover.

October 24. Orville-with Thomas A. Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey S. Firestone, Charles M. Schwab, George Eastman, and Julius Rosenwald-is honored as an industrial pioneer of America at dinner given at Hotel Astor in New York by Conference of Major Industries.

October 28. President Calvin Coolidge designates Orville as a delegate from the United States to the International Civil Aeronautics Conference to be held in Washington, D.C., December 12-14, 1928.

November 8. Acting as secretary of the National Aeronautic Association's Committee of Awards, Orville presents second Gordon Bennett International Balloon Trophy to Assistant Secretary of War F. Trubee Davison, who accepts it in behalf of the Army Air Corps. The trophy had been won by American balloon teams for the last three years.

November 28. Nomad Club in Dayton honors Orville at testimonial dinner in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of first flight at Kitty Hawk, December 17, 1903.

December 4. Representative Lindsay C. Warren, of North Carolina, introduces H.J. Res. 332, to appoint a congressional committee to attend the exercises celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first airplane flight made by Wilbur and Orville.

December 10. Orville is guest of honor of the city of Dayton in 25th anniversary celebration. In evening ceremony he is presented with an engraved, framed tribute on parchment, written by Howard Egbert of the National Cash Register Co., as a testimonial of appreciation from the people of Dayton.

Numerous delegates to the International Civil Aeronautics Conference to be held in Washington December 12-14 come to Dayton to pay homage to Orville. A wreath is placed at the grave of Wilbur, and delegates visit Orville at his home in the afternoon.

December 12. President Calvin Coolidge pays tribute to Wright brothers in address at opening session of the International Civil Aeronautics Conference in Washington, D.C.

Orville is honored dinner guest of German Ambassador and Madam Friedrich W. von Prittwits at German Embassy in Washington, D.C., and meets German delegates attending the International Civil Aeronautics Conference.

December 12. Two-cent and five-cent U.S. postage stamps issued in commemoration of the International Civil Aeronautics Conference at Washington, D.C., December 12-14, 1928, and the 25th anniversary of the first airplane flight by the Wright brothers, December 17, 1903. The two-cent stamp pictures the first Wright biplane in flight.

December 13. Orville attends showing of motion picture on the history of aviation at Washington auditorium, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.

Orville escorts Lindbergh to platform at Chamber of Commerce Building in Washington to receive the Harmon Trophy.

December 14. Orville attends dinner for delegates to the International Civil Aeronautics Conference at Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.

December 15. Lietuvos Aero Klubas [Lithuanian Aero Club] elects Orville honorary member.

Orville honored at public reception in Senate. He is brought to the Senate by Senator Hiram Bingham, of Connecticut, and is introduced to the Senate by Vice President Charles G. Dawes.

December 16. Orville among more than 200 notable figures making boat trip from Washington to Norfolk aboard steamer District of Columbia en route to Kitty Hawk, N.C. This was his first trip to Kitty Hawk since 1911.

December 17. In anniversary statement Orville says, "In twenty-five years flight has been extended from one minute to more than 65 hours; from one half mile to more than four thousand miles; and from a few feet above the ground to more than one half mile above itŠ The great strides made in aviation in the last two years would indicate that we have not yet even approached the limit of the possibilities.

Group pilgrimage from Washington to Kitty Hawk honors Wrights on 25th anniversary. Ceremonies include laying of the cornerstone of the national memorial to the Wrights at the top of Kill Devil Hill and the unveiling by Senator Bingham of a granite monument erected by the National Aeronautic Association on the spot from which the Wrights made their December 1903 flights.

Royal Aeronautical Society holds dinner honoring Wrights at Science Museum in London, with tables arranged around the Wright 1903 airplane on exhibit there. The dinner is presided over by the president of the Society, Air Marshal Sir W. Sefton Brancker.

December 18. Congress votes to present the Distinguished Flying Cross to Orville and to Wilbur posthumously.

December 20. Board of Governors of Kitty Hawk Aviation Yacht & Hunt Club of North Carolina elects Orville life member.

December 21. President Calvin Coolidge signs bill awarding Distinguished Flying Cross to Orville and Wilbur.

December 27. Orville is guest of honor at luncheon of Dayton Rotary Club and is presented with a scroll commemorating the occasion. Tribute is paid to Orville by Capt. John A. Macready and Howard Egbert.

December 30. Plans for a Wilbur Wright memorial at his birthplace in New Castle, Ind., and the establishment of an aviation hall of fame there, initiated by Capt. Benjamin B. Lipsner, are approved by a group of New Castle business and professional men. A Wilbur Wright Memorial Commission was subsequently organized.

December 31. Twentieth anniversary of Wilbur's record-breaking flight which won the Michelin Cup at Le Mans, France, is commemorated in memorial service at his birthplace in New Castle, Ind. Special Wilbur Wright memorial letters are mailed from New Castle to officials and visitors attending the ceremony.