CT Governor Malloy Rewrites History; Decrees By Law That Wright Brothers Were Not The First To Fly

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has officially changed history, at least in terms of the aviation industry.

According to a report from Fox News, Malloy announced this week that he had signed into law a measure decreeing that Gustave Whitehead, a resident of Bridgeport, Conn., was the first person to fly a plane. Whitehead reportedly made his first flight in 1901, two years before the Wright Brothers took flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C.

House Bill No. 6671, which Malloy passed into law as Public Act no. 13-210 on June 25, 2013 reads: "The Governor shall proclaim a date certain in each year as Powered Flight Day by [the Wright brothers] Gustave Whitehead and to commemorate the Connecticut aviation and aerospace industry."

This controversy stems from a claim made by Australian historian John Brown, who reportedly unveiled in March photographs that allegedly prove Whitehead took to the air on August 14, 1901 on a plane called No. 21, or "The Condor." The plane had wooden wheels and canvas wings stretched across wooden arms. On the morning of August 14, Brown claims the aircraft rose over a field in Fairfield, Conn. and flew a distance of approximately 1.5 miles at an elevation of 50 feet.

It's being reported by UPI.com that critics of Brown's claims say the surviving photos related to the event don't prove anything and also point out that Whitehead was apparently unable to duplicate his early success.

Many officials and experts in the aviation industry are also arguing that Brown's theory doesn't fly.

In North Carolina, where the Wright Brothers are said to have successfully pioneered the aviation industry as the first in flight, Brown's claims are being disputed, according to a report from kpopstarz.com.

Kevin Cherry, deputy secretary and director of archives and history for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, told reporters "We're certainly disappointed that Connecticut is trying to rewrite history and this has been researched over and over many times and it's been concluded each time that there's nothing factual to indicate that Whitehead flew."

At the Smithsonian museum, curators of the Wright Brothers plane have publicly expressed doubt over Brown's claims, also pointing out that history is factual and not based on laws.

"I'm still absolutely convinced -- as I think most historians are -- that the Wright's were first, and Whitehead in all probability never left the ground," said Tom Crouch, senior curator of aeronautics at the Smithsonian.

"You don't legislate history. History is a process. People make up their minds based, I hope, on some thought given to the evidence," Crouch said. "And I think when people do look seriously at the evidence for the Whitehead claims, they'll see that it falls apart."