John W. âJackâ Gilbert, 73, of Potlatch, died Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, at Miss Dorothy Adult Family Home, of age and vascular dementia. If you knew my dad, you can appreciate two of his âDid you know that today in history ...â for Dec. 17. So, in 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight. That date is also the anniversary of Hollywood stuntman Stan Barrett became the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in 1979. Dad knew many points of trivia about firearms, history, air power and ...