Flag of Dayton, Ohio

Dayton adopted its first flag on August 1, 1917. It was a vertical triband divided into two vertical bands of deep orange on either side and a larger band of white down the middle. The middle band contained a navy blue silhouette of a Wright Flyer encircled in rings of orange and navy blue, representing the globe. The name "DAYTON" was inscribed within the rings in navy blue. The flag was designed the previous year by Mabel Griep, an assistant art teacher at Steele High School who was childhood friends with Katharine Wright, sister of the Wright brothers. According to Griep, the blue represented loyalty, the white represented civic righteousness, and orange represented agricultural resources.[1][2][5]

The same city ordinance that specified the flag also specified a city pennant, similarly a triband of deep orange and white. The white band contained the name "DAYTON", set in navy blue lettering decreasing in size from mast to fly.[1]

On January 23, 1956, the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce urged the city commission to consider replacing the flag, then held a contest to choose the replacement in 1958. On June 11, 1958, a six-person committee selected a combination of two designs by Michael J. Spahr and Karen Kress.[2][6]

In 2018, Mayor Nan Whaley convened a committee to replace the flag after hearing a TED talk by Roman Mars.[7] From October 1 to December 9, 2019, the 20-person committee received 312 proposals mostly from residents of the Miami Valley area.[4] The committee required submissions to have a proportion of 1:1.67 and adhere to the North American Vexillological Association's five principles of flag design.[3] In 2020, the city commission and mayor selected three finalists. Based on public feedback, either one of the finalists will be selected as the new flag, or a graphic designer will incorporate the finalists' designs into a new design.[8]