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HCR 63
As Introduced

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H. C. R. No. 63 As Introduced

As Introduced

130th General Assembly

Regular Session

2013-2014

H. C. R. No. 63

Representative Perales

Cosponsors: Representatives Rosenberger, Butler, O'Brien, Barborak, Baker, Buchy, Ruhl, Thompson, Adams, R., Brenner, Terhar, Strahorn, Winburn, Bishoff, Damschroder

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To repudiate the claim by the State of Connecticut that Gustave Whitehead successfully flew a powered, heavier than air machine of his own design on August 14, 1901, or on any other date.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE SENATE CONCURRING):

       WHEREAS, From time to time some individuals, publishers, and lawmakers revive the claim that Gustave Whitehead (1874-1927), a resident of Connecticut, made a sustained, powered flight in a heavier than air machine at Bridgeport on August 14, 1901, two years before the Wright brothers of Dayton, Ohio, flew on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; and

       WHEREAS, The Governor of Connecticut signed into law on June 26, 2013, "an Act Concerning Government Administration"; and

       WHEREAS, The law replaces the Wright brothers with Gustave Whitehead as the person to be honored for the first powered flight on Connecticut's Powered Flight Day each year; and

       WHEREAS, The law provides no evidence that Gustave Whitehead ever designed, built, and flew a successful powered flying machine; and

       WHEREAS, Scholarly research by respected and academically credentialed historians over many decades have found no evidence to substantiate the Whitehead claims; and

       WHEREAS, A publicized digital image, purported to be an enhanced copy of a photograph that shows Gustave Whitehead's 1901 machine in flight, reveals only indistinct shapes; and

       WHEREAS, The North Carolina General Assembly previously repudiated a similar claim in 1985; and

       WHEREAS, The states of Ohio and North Carolina share and cherish the legacy of the Wright brothers, who lived and built the first powered airplane in Dayton, Ohio, and made their first powered flight on December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; and

       WHEREAS, The United States National Park Service preserves the factual history of the invention of the airplane and the first powered flights in the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and the National Aviation Heritage Area in southwestern Ohio; now therefore be it

       RESOLVED, That Gustave Whitehead did not fly a powered, heavier than air machine of his own design on August 14, 1901, or on any other date; and be it further

       RESOLVED, That the citizens of North Carolina and Ohio invite the citizens of Connecticut to learn the truth about the invention of the airplane and the first powered flights by visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and the National Aviation Heritage Area in Ohio.