"WILBUR WRIGHT GREETS LADY LIBERTY" UNVEILED

Dean Mosher’s canvas “Wilbur Wright Greets Lady Liberty,” depicting the pioneer aviator’s historic flight on September 29, 1909, was unveiled in Dayton, Ohio, on May 31, 2012, as one of the main events commemorating the centennial of the passing of Wilbur Wright. The unveiling took place at Carillon Historical Park, home of the 1905 Wright Flyer, one of the earliest Wright planes, whose restoration was overseen by Orville Wright shortly before his death in 1948.

Participating in the unveiling were Dr. Thomas D. Crouch, Senior Curator of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of Wilbur and Orville Wright; and Mary Mathews, retired Executive Director of Carillon Historical Park and Founding President of the Dayton Aviation Heritage Foundation.

Speakers included Dr. Crouch and Ms. Lane (please click on videos) as well as artist Dean Mosher.

The audience included Rick Young, eminent Wright historian; Dean Alexander, superintendent of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park; Stephen Wright, a great-grandnephew of the Wright brothers; and several other Wright scholars and Wright family members.

Following are the video recordings of remarks by Amanda Wright Lane, representing the Wright Family and Dr. Tom D. Crouch, of the Smithsonian Museum.

click here to play video Video by Scovil Productions		Dr. Tom D. Crouch of the Smithsonian Museum. Senior Curator, Division of Aeronautics. National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Institution. Publications: First Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 2003); With Peter Jakab, The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age (Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 2003); Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age (New York: W.W. Norton, 2003)
click here to play video Video by Scovil Productions		Amanda Wright Lane, representitive of the Wright Family. Amanda Wright Lane is the Great Grand Niece of Orville and Wilbur Wright. Mrs. Lane works to preserve the story of her famous family’s contribution to aviation history. She is a trustee for the Wright Family Foundation of the Dayton Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 charitable fund. It supports the preservation of aviation history related to the lives of the Wright Brothers by funding projects that include research and publication of early aviation history,

scholarships for studies in the fields of aviation and aeronautics, educational programming, the restoration and display of aviation artifacts, and the development of landmarks and memorials related to the Wrights' story.

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CEREMONY HONORING WILBUR WRIGHT

On Friday, June 1, 2012, at 3 p.m., a special ceremony marking the centennial of Wilbur Wright’s passing was held at the Wright family burial plot in Historic Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio. Dean and his wife Pagan were special guests of the Wright family. Speakers included Dr. Neil Armstrong in one of his last public appearances; Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of the Wright brothers; Rick Young, eminent Wright historian, and Stephen Wright, great-grandnephew of the Wright brothers. Several hundred spectators attended the thoughtful, uplifting event.

click here to play video Video by Scovil Productions

Neil Armstrong Speaks at the Wilbur Wright Memorial Event One of Neil Armstrong's last public appearances was at the Wilbur Wright Commemorative Memorial Service of 2012. It was fitting that the first man to set foot on the moon was present to commemorate the man who, along with his brother Orville, started man's quest to break the bounds of earth and reach for the sky.