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In 1948, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy was established following the death of Orville Wright to honor the memory of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The National Aeronautic Association awards the trophy annually to a living American for “significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States.”

1948DR. WILLIAM F. DURAND

1949CHARLES A. LINDBERGH

1950GROVER LOENING

1951DR. JEROME C. HUNSAKER

1952LT GEN JAMES H. DOOLITTLE, USAF

1953THE HONORABLE CARL HINSHAW

1954DR. THEODORE VON KARMAN

1955DR. HUGH L. DRYDEN

1956DR. EDWARD P. WARNER

1957SENATOR STUART SYMINGTON

1958DR. JOHN FREDERICK VICTORY

1959WILLIAM P. MACCRACKEN, JR.

1960FREDERICK C. CRAWFORD

1961A. S. MIKE MONRONEY

1962JOHN STACK

1963DONALD W. DOUGLAS, SR.

1964HARRY F. GUGGENHEIM

1965JEROME LEDERER

1966JUAN TERRY TRIPPE

1967DR. IGOR I. SIKORSKY

1968SENATOR WARREN G. MAGNUSON

1969WILLIAM M. ALLEN

1970C. R. SMITH

1971SENATOR HOWARD W. CANNON

1972JOHN H. SHAFFER

1973SENATOR BARRY M. GOLDWATER

1974DR. RICHARD T. WHITCOMB

1975CLARENCE L. (KELLY) JOHNSON

1976WILLIAM ALLAN PATTERSON

1977IRA C. EAKER

1978SENATOR JENNINGS RANDOLPH

1979T. A. WILSON

1980OLIVE ANN BEECH

1981DWANE L. WALLACE

1982WILLIS M. HAWKINS

1983JOHN LELAND ATWOOD

1984DAVID S. LEWIS

1985HARRY COMBS

1986JOSEPH F. SUTTER

1987ALLEN E. PAULSON

1988DR. SAM B. WILLIAMS

1989THOMAS V. JONES

1990EDWIN I. COLODNY

1991BENJAMIN A. COSGROVE

1992SENATOR JAKE GARN

1993GERHARD NEUMANN

1994A. L. UELTSCHI

1995RUSSELL W. MEYER, JR.

1996FREDERICK W. SMITH

1997CHARLES H. KAMAN

1998EDWARD W. STIMPSON

1999DELFORD M. SMITH

2000HERBERT D. KELLEHER

2001NEIL A. ARMSTRONG

2002PAUL H. POBEREZNY

2003JOHN GLENN

2004ROBERT L. CRANDALL

2005EDWARD C. “PETE” ALDRIDGE, JR.

2006NORMAN Y. MINETA

2007CAPTAIN EUGENE CERNAN, USN

2008NORMAN R. AUGUSTINE

2009STEPHEN F. UDVAR-HAZY

2010HARRISON FORD

2011LT GENERAL THOMAS STAFFORD, USAF (RET)

2012ROBERT J. STEVENS

2013MARION BLAKEY

2014BOB HOOVER

2015BURT RUTAN

2016 COLLEEN BARRETT

2017 GENERAL J.R. "JACK" DAILEY

2018 GENERAL LLOYD "FIG" NEWTON

2019 MICHAEL COLLINS

2020 MAJOR GENERAL CHARLES BOLDEN

2021 No trophy awarded.

2022 COLONEL EILEEN COLLINS

2023 CAPTAIN ROBERT "CRIP" CRIPPEN

2024 BEN BALDANZA

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details

Date

1966

Country of Origin

United States of America

Type

AWARDS-Trophies

Physical Description

Silver Wright 1903 Flyer model is mounted on a white granite block and black wood base with silver engraved plaques on the front that read:
"The First Successful Flight of an Airplane was made from this spot by Orville Wright December 17, 1903, in a machine designed and built by Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright. This tablet was erected by the National Aeronautic Association of the U.S.A December 17, 1928 to commemorate the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of this event.
Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States. Founded by Godfrey Lowell Cabot. Awarded by the National Aeronautic Association to Juan T. Trippe December 17, 1966."

Dimensions

3-D: 30.5 × 23.5 × 24.1cm (12 × 9 1/4 × 9 1/2 in.)

Materials

Base: Granite
Wright Flyer: Silver

Inventory Number

A19791485000

Credit Line

Donated by Juan T. Trippe

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

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