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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Wright, Orville, 1871-1948

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1871-1948

Biographical Note: The Wright Brothers

Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and his brother Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912) are credited with being the first to successfully invent, build and fly an airplane. Their first successful flight in a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft took place on December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Orville and Wilbur were two of seven children born to Milton Wright (1828–1917), a bishop, and Susan Catherine Koerner (1831–1889). They attended high school though neither received a diploma. In 1889 they started a printing press and published a newspaper. Later they cashed in on the bicylce craze and opened a repair and sales shop. Increasingly interested in flight, they began experimentation by 1899. The experimented first with gliders before attempting powered flight. Aviation pioneer Octave Chanute had suggested to them to do their test flights along the mid-Atlantic coast for its breezes and soft sandy landing surfaces, so they decided on Kitty Hawk, North Carolina which also gave them privacy from reporters.

After many experiments with gliders, the brothers built their first powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, in 1903. After having a custom designed propeller made, they began flight attmpts on December 14, 1903. After repairs and modifications to their Flyer, they made their successful flight attempts on December 17, 1903, with two flights each from level ground into a freezing headwind. Orville's first flight was at 10:35 am, flew 120 feet in 12 seconds at a speed of only 6.8 miles per hour at an altitude of about 10 feet above ground.

In 1904 they set up an airfield at Huffman Prairie, near Dayton to continue to experiment closer to home. They continued to modify their Flyers and make flying attempts, but their accomplishments were met with skepticism by the press. They spent 1906 and 1907 unsuccessfully tyring to get contracts from the U.S. and European governments. More demonstration flights, both in the U.S. and Europe, brought them more attention, business success and fame.

In 1906 they had been awarded patent number 821393 for "new and useful Improvements in Flying Machines". However they had continuing legal battles with other aviators, namely Glenn Curtiss, who refused to pay licensing fees. They incorporated their Wright Company on November 22, 1909. They hired exhibition pilots in 1910 to drum up business for aircraft sales. That year their company also made the first commercial cargo flight by flying fabric Dayton to Columbus, Ohio, for the Morehouse-Martens Department Store. The Wright Brothers Flying School at Huffman Prairie trained over 100 pilots.

Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville continued to run their business, with assistance from their sister Katharine, until 1915 when he sold it. He made his last flight as a pilot in 1918, serving on boards and committees in his retirement. Orville died in 1948.

Found in 7 Collections and/or Records:

Biographical Information Files - W

 Sub-Group
Scope and Contents Individuals whose names begin with W: Wackett, Lawrence, Sir [Director, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation] "Some Experiences of a Pioneer in the Aircraft Industry in Australia." Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, May 1959. Waddell, Jack [Boeing engineering test pilot] "Getting Ready for the Big One," Boeing magazine, December 1968 Wade,...

William E. Boeing Sr. Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 2005-10-06-B
Abstract William E. Boeing, Sr. (1881-1956) was an aviation pioneer and founded The Boeing Company in 1916. The collection holds textual materials, such as correspondence, philately, business-related materials, clippings, and ephemera, as well as photographs and illustrations related to his personal and business life, circa 1783-2008. Major areas of interest include family photographs and extensive personal and business-related correspondence.

Manny Gorin Wright Brothers Glass Plate Negatives Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2004-09-07
Content Description The Manny Gorin Wright Brothers Glass Plate Negatives Collection consists of 15 glass plate negatives of the Wright Brothers and their Model A aircraft in France, circa 1908-1909. Four images depict the Model A in flight. Five images show the aircraft on the ground with groups of people, primarily men, standing around it and inspecting it. One image shows the plane being wheeled across a dirt road toward a barn-like structure, likely Wilbur's temporary hangar at the Hunaudières...

"La Conquête de l'Air" postcard book

 Collection — Box: Assorted rare collections, Box 1, Folder: 1988-03-22
Identifier: 1988-03-22
Content Description "La Conquête de l'Air" postcard book is a collection consisting of one book of 24 postcards documenting Wilbur Wright's demonstration flights in Le Mans, France in 1908. The booklet includes two pages of text about Le Mans, France and Léon Bollée, Civil Engineer of the City of Le Mans. The 24 photomechanical postcards in the booklet include images of Wilbur and Orville Wright; Léon Bollée; the motor for the Wright flyer; the aircraft under construction in Bollée's factory; the...

William Preston Mayfield Wright Brothers Photograph Album

 Collection
Identifier: 2018-10-01-C
Abstract Personal album of aviation photographer William Preston Mayfield wtih 50 silver gelatin prints relating to Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Orville Wright Letter

 Collection
Identifier: 2018-10-01-D
Abstract 4-page typed letter signed on Wright Company letterhead, dated April 7, 1915, to Frederick Eppelsheimer of the New York Herald, discussing the possibility of using a pendulum to stabilize aircraft, mentioning the death of his brother Wilbur, and referencing fellow aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss. Accompanied by a small matte-finish portrait of Eppelsheimer, dated 1918.

Ted Young Aviation lithograph collection

 Collection — Box: Small Collections oversize materials 2019-, oversize: folder
Identifier: 2019-00-00-1
Contents of the Collection The Ted Young Aviation lithograph collection is comprised of eighteen (18) 11x14" color lithographs of assorted aircraft and aviators, created in 1974-circa 1990s. Identified aircraft include the Wright Military Flyer, "The Spirit of St. Louis", and Lockheed Vega "Winnie May." Identified personalities include Amelia Earhart, Samuel Pierpont Langley, Wilbur and Orvile Wright, General Jimmy Doolittle, Robert H. Goddard, Neil Armstrong, and John Glenn. Many of the lithographs, specifically those...

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