Feb

Today in Smithsonian History: February 10, 1910

The Wright Brothers standing outside the north door of the Smithsonian Institution Castle after receiving the Langley Medal for Aerodromics, February 10, 1910. From left are: Smithsonian Secretary Charles D. Walcott; Wilbur Wright; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, a Smithsonian regent; and Orville Wright

February 10, 1910 The Smithsonian Board of Regents formally presents the first Langley Medal for Aerodromics to Wilbur and Orville Wright for their “successful investigations and demonstrations of the practicability of mechanical flight by man” in a ceremony on this date. The Regents voted to award the medal a year earlier, on February 10, 1909.

Front and back perspectives of the Samuel P. Langley Medal for Aerodromics, the third oldest medal to be awarded by the Smithsonian Institution. The Langley Medal is in honor of the Smithsonian’s third Secretary, Samuel P. Langley (1887-1906) and is given to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the science of aeronautics and astronautics. The medal was authorized by the Board of Regents in 1908 and first presented to the Wright Brothers in 1909.

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives