Wright Brothers

Bishop Milton Wright and Susan Catharine Wright had four sons, Reuchlin, Lorin, Wilbur, and Orville, and one daughter Katharine. Little did Susan Wright know that she had given birth to one of the world's most famous inventive partnerships. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana. Orville was born 4 years later on August 19, 1871, in the families newly built home at 7 Hawthorn Street in Dayton, Ohio. A minister in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Milton Wright moved his family to Dayton so he could edit the church newspaper published there. The Wrights stayed in Dayton until 1878, when Milton was elected bishop and moved the family to Iowa. In 1885, they returned to the house at 7 Hawthorn Street.

As the boys grew older, their parents encouraged them to pursue intellectual interests. They had two libraries in their house; books on theology were kept in the bishop's study, while the downstairs library had a large and diverse collection. This kept them always reading and learning while they were not at school. Although their dad was a firm disciplinarian, both parents were loving and kept the family a close one. Every once and awhile, Milton would bring them various souvenirs and trinkets he found during his travels for the church. One such trinket, a toy helicopter-like top, sparked the boys' interest in flying.

Wilbur's skating accident and his mother's illness and subsequent death kept him from attending college. Orville was on the other hand, was an average student, known for his mischievous behavior. He quit school before his senior year to start a printing business with his brother.

The first time Wilbur and Orville referred to themselves, as "The Wright Brothers" was when they started their own printing firm at the ages of 22 and 18. Using a damaged tombstone and buggy parts, they built a press and printed their own newspaper.

In 1892, the brothers bought bicycles. They began repairing bicycles for friends, and then started their own repair business. They opened up a bicycle shop in 1893, and three years later, made their own bicycles called Van Cleves and St. Clairs. While caring for Orville, who was sick with typhoid in 1896, Wilbur read about two events; the death in a flying accident of Otto Lilienthal, the celebrated German experimenter with gliders, and the successful launching of powered models by Samuel Langley. This struck Wilbur with excitement.

The Wright's serious work in aeronautics began in 1899 when Wilbur wrote to the Smithsonian Institution for information on aeronautical research. Within a few months after writing to the Smithsonian, Wilbur had read all that was written about flying. He then defined the elements of a flying machine: wings to provide lift, a power source for propulsion, and a system of control. Wilbur alone recognized the need to control a flying machine in its three axes of motion: pitch, roll, and yaw. They quickly developed their own theories, and for the next four years devoted themselves to the goal of human flight.

In August of 1900, Wilbur built his first glider. They sought an arrangement where practice would be easy. Wilbur wanted to build a 150-foot tower with a pulley at the top. A rope, attached to the glider, would pass over the pulley and be tied to a counterweight, supporting part of the weight of the craft. Wilbur believed this arrangement would permit the pilot to practice the skills needed to fly even if the craft was not yet fully airworthy. The brothers friend, Octave Chanute, wisely recommended against this course of action, instead encouraging the brothers to find a place with lots of sand and strong winds, to minimize the effort in moving the glider from the point of landing back to the point of takeoff.

Wilbur then contacted the U.S. Weather Bureau for information on windy regions of the country. He chose a remote sandy area off the coast of North Carolina named Kitty Hawk where there would be no fanfare or no media. The winds averaged 13 M.P.H. and were good speeds for testing. Wilbur arrived in Kitty Hawk on September 13, 1900, while Orville followed on September 27. The two brothers camped in a tent close to Kitty Hawk. The biplane glider was finished during the first week in October. The glider was designed with a wingspan of 20 feet and weighed about 50 pounds. They then began testing the biplane glider. Initially it was tested as a manned kite, where one brother and Bill Tate (the Wright brothers friend) held the ropes while the other brother lay onboard, operating the controls. Later, it was tested as an unmanned kite, with chains being used for ballast. The longest flights were anywhere between 300 and 400 feet in length.

The following year, in 1901, the Wright brothers returned to North Carolina and tested a new and improved glider with a 22-foot wingspan. They made their camp in Kill Devil