This year marks the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903, where Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first successful sustained powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine. The flight has been called twelve seconds that changed the world (http://www.firstflightcentennial.org/ )!

To honor the achievements of that first flight, the Libraries of The Claremont Colleges will feature exhibits in Honnold/Mudd Library including items from the Carruthers Aviation Collection* November 1, 2003 - January 30, 2004. Aviators and aviation technologies will be showcased using drawings, photographs, personal correspondence, books, and aviation sheet music. On view will be items such as prints depicting early experiments in ballooning from the 18th century, photographs of Charles Lindbergh during his heyday, and original letters from early women aviators.

The display will complement an online exhibit and an event co-sponsored by the Libraries of The Claremont Colleges and Harvey Mudd College (HMC) featuring Professor Fred Culick from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Culick will speak about the evolution of the Wright Flyer as part of HMC's Nelson Lecture series on Wednesday, November 5, at 7pm at Galileo Hall on HMC's campus.

Click for larger images.

Dr. Culick is a professor of aerodynamics and has taught courses in both physics and engineering. In addition he is a consultant to several industrial and government agencies concerned with combustion instability in propulsion systems. Currently he is the chief engineer for a group of aerospace engineers who have built and conducted wind-tunnel tests of a real-size replica of the original Wright flyer in order to reenact the Wrights' historic flight.

The Libraries are honored that Dr. Culick will also be a speaker at the grand opening of the library aviation exhibits and the opening of the Founders Room on Wednesday, November 5, 3:45-5pm, in Honnold/Mudd, second floor. This is a free event and anyone interested is welcome to attend. For more information on this event contact Government Publications Librarian Sheri Irvin at 607-9526 or Honnold/Mudd Special Collections at 607-3977.

Events are being organized nationwide to celebrate the Wright brothers' first flight. For more information on the Wright Brothers famous flight see:

• First Flight Centennial at http://www.firstflightcentennial.org/
• Wright Stuff at http://www2.faa.gov/education/wright/wright.htm
• U.S. Centennial of Flight Homepage at http://www.centennialofflight.gov

*The Carruthers Aviation Collection was a gift to CMC and is housed in Special Collections, Honnold/ Mudd Library. This collection has a strong emphasis on World War I aeronautical history, the history and development of balloon flight, and pioneer women aviators.

Sheri Irvin
Honnold/Mudd
sheri.irvin@libraries.claremont.edu