Orville Wright

Today is the birthday of Orville Wright, who along with his brother Wilbur achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight with a pilot aboard. Orville (pictured below) was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1871; Wilbur was four years older. The brothers never went to college and started out building printing presses. In 1892 the siblings opened a bicycle shop. Their innovative construction of lightweight bikes set the stage for devising designs for flying machines. The Wright brothers chose the windy, dune-filled village of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, for their flying experiments. Orville and Wilbur tested their first glider in October 1900, and then designed a wind tunnel to test different wing designs. On 17 December 1903, Orville piloted the first successful flight of the brothers’ powered aircraft. Later that day Wilbur remained aloft for nearly a minute and flew over 250 meters. By 1905 the brothers had created models that could stay aloft for long periods of time. They sold airplanes to the US Army, showcased flights in Europe, and started the Wright Company. You can see their 1903 Flyer at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, accompanied by this description: “By original scientific research, the Wright brothers discovered the principles of human flight. As inventors, builders and flyers, they further developed the aeroplane, taught man to fly, and opened the era of aviation.”

Date in History: 19 August 1871