write a brief biography of orville and wilbur wright

Orville Wright

(1871-1948)

Who Was Orville Wright?

Orville Wright and his elder brother, Wilbur Wright, were the inventors of the world's first successful airplane. The brothers successfully conducted the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven airplane on December 17, 1903. They subsequently became successful businessmen, filling contracts for airplanes in both Europe and the United States. Today, the Wright brothers are considered the "fathers of modern aviation." Orville is also known for developing technology for the U.S. Army.

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio, one of five children of Susan Catherine Koerner and Milton Wright, a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ.

As a child, Orville was a mischievous and curious boy, and his family encouraged his intellectual development. "We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity," Orville later wrote in his memoir.

Milton traveled often for his church work, and in 1878, he brought home a toy helicopter for his boys. Based on an invention by French aeronautical pioneer Alphonse Pénaud, it was made of cork, bamboo and paper, and used a rubber band to twirl its twin blades. Orville and his brother were fascinated by the toy, and a lifelong passion for aeronautics was born.

The Wright family moved to Richmond, Indiana, in 1881. In Richmond, Orville developed a love of kites and soon began making his own at home. By 1884, the family was back in Ohio, where Orville enrolled at Dayton Central High School. Never especially studious, Orville was more interested in hobbies outside the classroom than school, and, thusly, dropped out of high school during his senior year and opened a print shop. Having worked in a print shop over the summer, he quickly went to work designing his own printing press for the shop. In 1889, Orville began publishing the West Side News , a weekly West Dayton newspaper. Wilbur served as the paper's editor.

That same year, tragedy struck the Wright family. Orville's mother died after suffering a long bout of tuberculosis. With her mother gone, Orville's sister Katharine took on the responsibilities of maintaining the household. The bond between Orville, Katharine and Wilbur was a strong one, and the siblings would remain a close trio throughout the majority of their lives.

Inventing the Airplane

After their mother's death, Orville and his brother dedicated themselves to another shared interest: bicycles. A new, safer design had set off a bicycle craze across the country. The brothers opened a bicycle shop in 1892, selling and fixing bikes, and began manufacturing their own design in 1896. Orville invented a self-oiling wheel hub for their popular bikes.

Always curious about aeronautics, Orville and Wilbur followed the latest flying news. When famous German aviator Otto Lilienthal, whose research they had studied, died in a glider crash, the Wright brothers became convinced that, with better designs, human flight was possible. The brothers took their work to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where heavy winds were more conducive to flying.

Orville and Wilbur began experimenting with wings. They observed that birds angled their wings to balance and control their bodies during flight. Utilizing their concept of "wing warping" and the movable rudder, the brothers developed a design that had eluded all who came before them. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven airplane. Of four flights they made that day, the longest was 59 seconds, over a distance of 852 feet. Today, the Wright brothers are considered the "fathers of modern aviation."

News of the Wrights' feat was met with early skepticism. After funding a number of failed flying experiments, the United States government was reluctant to back their work. When Wilbur set sail for Europe, Orville headed to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate their flying machine in hopes of winning government and army contracts. In July 1909, Orville completed the demonstration flights for the U.S. Army, which had demanded that a passenger seat be built in the plane. The Wright brothers sold the plane for $30,000.

The Wright brothers' extraordinary success led to contracts in both Europe and the United States, and they soon became wealthy business owners. They began building a grand family home in Dayton, where they had spent much of their childhood.

On May 25, 1910, Orville flew for six minutes with Wilbur as his passenger—marking the first and only flight the brothers would make together. That same day, Orville took his 82-year-old father out for the first and only flight of his life.

In 1912, Wilbur died of typhoid fever. Without his brother and business partner, Orville was forced to take on the presidency of the Wright company. Unlike his brother, though, he cared little for the business side of their work, and, thusly, sold the company in 1915.

Later Life and Death

Orville spent the last three decades of his life serving on boards and committees related to aeronautics, including the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He cut off communication with his sister, Katharine, when she married in 1926. Neither Orville nor Wilbur ever married, and he was greatly upset by his sister's choice. In 1929, he had to be persuaded to visit Katharine at her deathbed.

On January 30, 1948, Orville died after suffering a second heart attack. He is buried at the Wright family plot in Dayton, Ohio.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Orville Wright
• Birth Year: 1871
• Birth date: August 19, 1871
• Birth State: Ohio
• Birth City: Dayton
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Orville Wright was an aviation pioneer who is best known for inventing the airplane with his brother, Wilbur.
• Technology and Engineering
• Astrological Sign: Leo
• Dayton Central High School
• Death Year: 1948
• Death date: January 30, 1948
• Death State: Ohio
• Death City: Dayton
• Death Country: United States

We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Orville Wright Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/inventors/orville-wright
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: October 7, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
• We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity.

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Wright Brothers Biography

Orville wright.

Born: August 19, 1871 Dayton, Ohio Died: January 30, 1948 Dayton, Ohio

Wilbur Wright

Born: April 16, 1867 Millville, Indiana Died: May 30, 1912 Dayton, Ohio American aviators

The American aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright were the first to accomplish manned, powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine.

Their early years

Wilbur and Orville Wright were the sons of Milton Wright, a bishop of the United Brethren in Christ. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867, in Millville, Indiana. Orville was born on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. Until the death of Wilbur in 1912, the two were inseparable. Their personalities were perfectly complementary (each provided what the other lacked). Orville was full of ideas and enthusiasms. Wilbur was more steady in his habits, more mature in his judgments, and more likely to see a project through.

While in high school, Wilbur intended to go to Yale and study to be a clergyman. However, he suffered a facial injury while playing hockey, which prevented him from continuing his education. For the next three years he continued his education informally through reading in his father's large library.

In their early years the two boys helped their father, who edited a journal called the Religious Telescope. Later, they began a paper of their own, West Side News. They went into business together as printers producing everything from religious handouts to commercial fliers. In 1892 they opened the Wright Cycle Shop in Dayton. This was the perfect occupation for the Wright brothers because it involved one of the exciting mechanical devices of the time: the bicycle. When the brothers took up the problems of flight, they had a solid grounding in practical mechanics (knowledge of how to build machines).

The exploits of one of the great glider pilots of the late nineteenth century, Otto Lilienthal, had attracted the attention of the Wright brothers as early as 1891, but it was not until the death of this famous aeronautical (having to do with the study of flying and the design of flying machines) engineer in 1896 that the two became interested in gliding experiments. They then decided to educate themselves in the theory and state of the art of flying.

Their beginnings in flight

The Wrights took up the problem of flight at a favorable time, for some of the fundamental, or basic, theories of aerodynamics were already known; a body of experimental data existed; and, most importantly, the recent development of the internal combustion engine made available a sufficient source of power for manned flight.

The Wright brothers began by accumulating and mastering all the important information on the subject, designed and tested their own models and gliders, built their own engine, and, when the experimental data they had inherited appeared to be inadequate or wrong, they conducted new and more thorough experiments. The Wrights decided that earlier attempts at flight were not successful because the plans for early airplanes required pilots to shift their bodies to control the plane. The brothers decided that it would be better to control a plane by moving its wings.

First trip to Kitty Hawk

The Wright brothers proceeded to fly double-winged kites and gliders in order to gain experience and to test the data they had. After consulting the U.S. Weather Bureau, they chose an area of sand dunes near the small town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, as the site of their experiments. In September 1900 they set up camp there.

The Wrights's first device failed to fly as a kite because it was unable to develop sufficient lift (upward force). Instead, they flew it as a free glider. They kept careful records of their failures as well as of their successes. Their own data showed conclusively that previous tables of information they had were greatly inaccurate.

Returning to Dayton in 1901, the Wright brothers built a wind tunnel (a tunnel wherein one can control the flow of wind in order to determine its effect on an object)—the first in the United States. This is where they tested over two hundred models of wing surfaces in order to measure lift and drag (resistance) factors and to discover the most suitable design. They also discovered that although screw propellers had been used on ships for more than half a century, there was no reliable body of data on the subject and no theory that would allow them to design the proper propellers for their airship. They had to work the problem out for themselves mathematically.

The Wrights, by this time, not only had mastered the existing body of aeronautical science but also had added to it. They now built their third glider, incorporating their findings, and in the fall of 1902 they returned to Kitty Hawk. They made over one thousand gliding flights and were able to confirm their previous data and to demonstrate their ability to control motions of the glider. Having learned to build and to control an adequate air frame, they now determined to apply power to their machine.

Powered flight

The Wright brothers soon discovered, however, that no manufacturer would undertake to build an engine that would meet their specifications, so they had to build their own. They produced one that had four cylinders and developed 12 horsepower (a unit that describes the strength of an engine). When it was installed in the air frame, the entire machine weighed just 750 pounds and proved to be capable of traveling 31 miles per hour. They took this new airplane to Kitty Hawk in the fall of 1903 and on December 17 made the world's first manned, powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft.

The first flight was made by Orville and lasted only 12 seconds, during which the airplane flew 120 feet. That same day, however, on its fourth flight, with Wilbur at the controls, the plane stayed in the air for 59 seconds and traveled 852 feet. Then a gust of wind severely damaged the craft. The brothers returned to Dayton convinced of their success and determined to build another machine. In 1905 they abandoned their other activities and concentrated on the development of aviation. On May 22, 1906, they received a patent for their flying machine.

The next step

The brothers looked to the federal government for encouragement in their venture, and gradually interest was aroused in Washington, D.C. In 1907 the government asked for bids for an airplane that would meet certain requirements. Twenty-two bids were received, three were accepted, but only the Wright brothers finished their contract.

The brothers continued their experiments at Kitty Hawk, and in September 1908, while Wilbur was in France attempting to interest foreign backers in their machine, Orville successfully demonstrated their contract airplane. It was accepted by the government. The event was marred by a crash a week later in which Orville was injured and a passenger was killed.

Wilbur's trip to France proved to be a success. In 1909 the Wright brothers formed the American Wright Company, with Wilbur taking the lead in setting up and directing the business. His death in Dayton on May 30, 1912, left Orville feeling depressed and alone. In 1915 he sold his rights to the firm and gave up his interest in manufacturing in order to turn to experimental work. He had little taste for the busy activity of commercial life.

After his retirement, Orville lived quietly in Dayton, conducting experiments on mechanical problems of interest to him, none of which proved to be of major importance. His chief public activity was service on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the government agency that came before the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA), of which he was a member from its organization by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915 until his death in Dayton on January 30, 1948.

The Wright Brothers helped found modern aviation through their curiosity, their inventiveness, and their unwillingness to give up their vision.

For More Information

Culick, Fred E. C., and Spencer Dunmore. On Great White Wings: The Wright Brothers and the Race for Flight. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife, 2001.

Freedman, Russell. The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane. New York: Holiday House, 1991.

Howard, Fred. Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers. New York: Knopf, 1987.

Kelly, Fred C. The Wright Brothers: A Biography Authorized by Orville Wright. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young, 1951. Reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1989.

Walsh, John Evangelist. One Day at Kitty Hawk: The Untold Story of the Wright Brothers and the Airplane. New York: Crowell, 1975.

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Wright Brothers

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 13, 2023 | Original: November 6, 2009

Wilbur and Orville Wright were American inventors and pioneers of aviation. In 1903 the Wright brothers achieved one of the first flights with a powered, sustained and controlled airplane; they surpassed their own milestone two years later when they built and flew the first fully practical airplane.

Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana . He was the middle child in a family of five children. His father, Milton Wright, was a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. His mother was Susan Catherine Koerner.

The family later moved to Dayton, Ohio. As a child, Wilbur’s playmate was his younger brother, Orville Wright , born in 1871 in Dayton.

Did you know? Neither Wilbur nor Orville attended college, but their younger sister Katherine did.

Milton Wright’s preaching took him on the road frequently, and he often brought back small toys for his children. In 1878 he brought back a small model helicopter for his boys. Made of cork, bamboo and paper, and powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades, the model was based on a design by the French aeronautical pioneer Alphonse Pénaud. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, Wilbur and Orville would develop a lifelong love of aeronautics and flying.

Wilbur was a bright and studious child and excelled in school. His personality was outgoing and robust, and he made plans to attend Yale University after high school. In the winter of 1885-86, an accident changed the course of Wilbur’s life. He was badly injured in an ice hockey game when another player’s stick hit him in the face.

Though most of his injuries healed, the incident plunged Wilbur into a depression. He did not receive his high school diploma, canceled plans for college, and retreated to his family’s home. Wilbur spent much of this period at home, reading books in his family’s library, and caring for his ailing mother, who died in 1889 of tuberculosis.

In 1889 the brothers started their own newspaper, the West Side News. Wilbur edited the paper, and Orville was the publisher. The brothers also shared a passion for bicycles—a new craze that was sweeping the country. In 1892 Wilbur and Orville opened a bike shop, fixing bicycles and selling their own design.

First Flight

Always working on different mechanical projects and keeping up with scientific research, the Wright brothers closely followed the research of German aviator Otto Lilienthal . When Lilienthal died in a glider crash, the brothers decided to start their own experiments with flight. Determined to develop their own successful design, Wilbur and Orville headed to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina , known for its strong winds.

Wilbur and Orville set to work trying to figure out how to design wings for flight. They observed that birds angled their wings for balance and control, and tried to emulate this, developing a concept called “wing warping.” When they added a moveable rudder, the Wright brothers found they had the magic formula.

On December 17, 1903, they succeeded in flying the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven, heavier-than-air plane. Wilbur flew their plane for 59 seconds, over a distance of 852 feet, an extraordinary achievement.

The Wright brothers soon found that their success was not appreciated by all. Many in the press, as well as fellow flight experts, were reluctant to believe the brothers’ claims at all. As a result, Wilbur set out for Europe in 1908, where he hoped he would have more success convincing the public and selling airplanes.

In France, Wilbur found a much more receptive audience. He made many public flights and gave rides to officials, journalists and statesmen. In 1909 Orville joined his brother in Europe, as did their younger sister Katharine. The Wrights became huge celebrities there, hosted by royals and heads of state, and constantly featured in the press.

The Wrights began to sell their airplanes in Europe, before returning to the United States in 1909. The brothers became wealthy businessmen, filling contracts for airplanes in Europe and the United States.

Wilbur and Orville always shared credit for their innovations and maintained a close relationship throughout their lives. Behind the scenes, however, there was a division of labor. With his sharp instincts, Wilbur was the business mind and executive of the operation, serving as president of the Wright company.

Death and Legacy

Wilbur fell ill on a trip to Boston in April 1912. He was diagnosed with typhoid fever and died on May 30 at his family home in Dayton, Ohio . Milton Wright wrote in his diary, “A short life, full of consequences. An unfailing intellect, imperturbable temper, great self-reliance and as great modesty, seeing the right clearly, pursuing it steadily, he lived and died.”

Orville spent the last three decades of his life serving on boards and committees related to aeronautics, including the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . Neither Orville nor Wilbur ever married. On January 30, 1948, Orville died after suffering a second heart attack. He is buried at the Wright family plot in Dayton, Ohio.

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Biography Online

Wright Brothers Biography

The Wright brothers – Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with building and flying the first heavier than air aeroplane. They achieved the first recorded flight on 17 December 1903. Over the next ten years, they continued to develop the aircraft making a significant contribution to the development of the modern aeroplane.

Their particular contribution was in the effective control of an aeroplane, through their three-axis control system. This basic principle is still used today. It was for this control mechanism that the Wright’s received their first US patent – 821,393.

Early Life of Wright Brothers

Around 1885, Wilbur became withdrawn after sustaining a facial injury during a game of ice-hockey. This injury and the resulting depression caused Wilbur to give up his dreams of studying at Yale. Instead, he remained close to home, helping his father with ministerial tasks and looking after his ill mother.

However, Orville was determined to try new things, and his enthusiasm helped draw his brother Wilbur into new projects. In 1889, they designed and built a printing press which, for a short time, published a daily newspaper.

In 1892, the capitalised on the ‘safety bicycle’ boom and opened a bicycle shop; this was commercially successful and also enabled them to develop their skills as designers and engineers.

Around the turn of the century, there was considerable interest in the possibility of flight. Most of this centred on gliders. But, the Wright brothers began to explore the possibility of mechanised flight with heavier than air aircraft. For both brothers, the dream of flying became an all-consuming passion.

“For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man. My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life. I have been trying to arrange my affairs in such a way that I can devote my entire time for a few months to experiment in this field.”

Wilbur Wright, Letter to Octave Chanute (13 May 1900)

They concentrated on building a more powerful, but lighter engine and worked on an innovative design for controlling the plane once airborne.

They used funds from the bicycle shop to start testing at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was a windy environment which helped give planes lift off. They made extensive tests and also recorded a range of data about possible flights. Even at the turn of the Century, many were doubtful that man would ever be able to fly.

“My brother and I became seriously interested in the problem of human flight in 1899 … We knew that men had by common consent adopted human flight as the standard of impossibility. When a man said, “It can’t be done; a man might as well try to fly,” he was understood as expressing the final limit of impossibility.”

Wilbur Wright

First Flight by Wright Brothers

On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first historic, aeroplane flight, where Orville piloted the plane (called ‘the Flyer’) with Wilbur running at the wing tip.

The first flight, by Orville, of 120 feet (37 m) in 12 seconds, at a speed of only 6.8 miles per hour (10.9 km/h) over the ground, was recorded in a famous photograph. The next two flights covered approximately 175 feet (53 m) and 200 feet (61 m), by Wilbur and Orville respectively. Their altitude was about 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground. The following is Orville Wright’s account of the final flight of the day:

“Wilbur started the fourth and last flight at just about 12 o’clock. The first few hundred feet were up and down, as before, but by the time three hundred ft had been covered, the machine was under much better control. The course for the next four or five hundred feet had but little undulation. However, when out about eight hundred feet the machine began pitching again, and, in one of its darts downward, struck the ground. The distance over the ground was measured to be 852 feet; the time of the flight was 59 seconds. The frame supporting the front rudder was badly broken, but the main part of the machine was not injured at all. We estimated that the machine could be put in condition for flight again in about a day or two.”

Five people witnessed the first flight, including John Daniels who took the famous first flight photo.

Over the next few years, they continued to develop their aircraft. However, they were conscious of needing to gain strong patents to make their aircraft commercially viable. They became reluctant to reveal too much about their flights and disliked reporters taking photos of their designs. Their secret approach and competing claims by other aircraft designers meant that for many years their inventions and flights were met with either indifference or scepticism. However, in 1908, Wilbur began public demonstrations in Le Mans, France. His ability to effortlessly make turns and manoeuvre the aircraft caused a sea change in public opinion, and the display of technically challenging flights caused widespread public acclaim and enthusiasm.

In 1909, Wilbur made a public flight up the Hudson River in New York, circling the Statue of Liberty. The 33-minute flight, witnessed by one million New Yorkers, established their fame in America.

Achievements of the Wright Brothers

• 1903 – first powered aircraft flight
• 1905 – built an aeroplane that could fly for more than half an hour at a time.
• 1908 – Orville Wright made the world’s first flight of over one hour at Fort Myer, Virginia, in a demonstration for the U.S. Army, which subsequently made the Wright planes the world’s first military aeroplanes.
• 1908 – Wilbur made over 100 flights near Le Mans, France; the longest one, on Dec. 31, a record flight: 2 hours, 19 minutes.

The Wright’s made their first application for a patent in 1903, but it was rejected. In 1904, they hired a patent attorney, who helped them gain their first patent. However, other aviators attempted to circumnavigate the Wright brothers patents, leading to painful and costly legal battles in the courts.

In the last two years of his life from 1910 to 1912, Wilbur played a key role in the patent struggle. His family believed this contributed to his premature death from typhoid fever in 1912.

The brothers never married. Wilbur once quipped he “did not have time for both a wife and an aeroplane.” Orville Wright died of a heart attack at age 77.

The original Wright Flyer rests in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. with the inscription.

“The original Wright brothers aeroplane The world’s first power-driven heavier-than-air machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight Invented and built by Wilbur and Orville Wright Flown by them at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina December 17, 1903 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.”

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “ Biography of The Wright Brothers” , Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net 23rd June 2010. Last updated 7th March 2018.

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Who Were the Wright Brothers?

The invention of the airplane is one of the great stories in American history. At the center of this story are two talented, yet modest, Midwestern bicycle shop owners who created a world-changing technology: the Wright brothers. Their invention not only solved a long-studied technical problem, but helped create an entirely new world. So, who exactly were Orville and Wilbur Wright? 

Several strong family traits contributed to the Wrights’ success. Wilbur and Orville were shaped by a family with an uncompromising moral philosophy and clear worldview. The Wrights’ parents taught their children that the world was an unfriendly place; untrustworthy people and evil temptations were everywhere. They were convinced that family bonds offered the only real support in life. This supportive home life gave Wilbur and Orville the self-confidence to reject the theories of more well-known and experienced aeronautical experimenters when they felt their own ideas were correct. The emotional anchor provided by their strong family often helped Wilbur and Orville keep going when they ran into difficulties in their research. 

Where and when they lived was also important to their achievement. In the late 1800s, the Wrights hometown of Dayton, Ohio, was part of a growing manufacturing and industrial region. The environment helped the brothers learn mechanical and engineering skills important to their work.  

Two Distinct Minds 

Orville and Wilbur Wright are typically portrayed as clever bicycle mechanics that somehow invented the airplane. They are referred to as if they were a single persona: “the Wright brothers” —one mind, one personality. However, Wilbur and Orville were, of course, in actuality two distinct individuals who brought unique talents and perspectives to their collaborations. 

Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) was steady and confident. His father described him as “never rattled in thought or temper.” Highly intelligent, he was an avid reader, a talented writer, and a gifted speaker. Outgoing when he needed to be, he could also shut out the world when he chose. 

Wilbur excelled in school, had an extraordinary memory, and was a good athlete. Toward the end of his senior year at Richmond High School in Indiana, the family suddenly returned to Dayton due to his father’s church responsibilities. Wilbur was unable to complete his courses and graduate. Hoping to attend Yale and become a teacher, he enrolled in several college preparatory courses at Central High School in Dayton.

Wilbur’s bright future suddenly dimmed when he was hit in the face with a stick while playing an ice hockey type of game when he was 18. The damage to his face and teeth heeled, but he suffered lingering heart and digestive troubles. He became depressed. The confident, robust young Wilbur faded. Uncertain of his health and future, he dropped his plans to attend Yale and withdrew from the world, spending most of his time alone, reading and thinking. 

By the time of Wilbur’s accident, his mother was already ill with tuberculosis and needed constant care. Struggling to find a new direction in life, Wilbur devoted his life to nursing his mother until she died in 1889, when he was 22.  

Wilbur found sanctuary during his “lost years” from 1886 to 1889 in his father’s extensive library. He became as well read as any college graduate and sharpened his writing skills while helping his father fight political battles in the church. The pamphlet below, produced in 1888, was Wilbur’s first published writing. 

Orville Wright (1871-1948) was more impulsive, optimistic, and contemplative than his older brother. He was curious and energetic, with a wide range of interests. His mind was quick, and he was always coming up with new inventions. While pursuing the airplane was initially Wilbur’s idea, Orville’s enthusiasm often carried them through the solving of difficult technical problems.  

Orville showed an early interest in technology and science. He was always doing experiments and taking things apart to find out how they worked. He fit the model of the budding inventor far more than Wilbur.  

While Orville was just as bright as his brother, he could be mischievous in class and did not always give his best effort. His work habits improved in high school, but instead of following the normal junior-year curriculum, he chose a series of advanced college preparatory courses. This meant he couldn’t graduate at the end of his senior year, so he decided not to attend school that term. That’s right, the co-inventor of the airplane never graduated from high school. 

Despite his lack of interest in a formal diploma, Orville, like Wilbur, was committed to broad learning and did of lot of studying on his own outside of school. Both of the brothers’ education were comparable to a modern four-year college degree. 

From Inventors to Icons 

Wilbur and Orville began their experiments as modest, Midwestern businessmen. Together, they owned ran both a successful printing company and a successful bicycle company. By the time they were finished, their world-changing invention placed them among the most recognized figures in American history. 

The brothers' aeronautical feats led them to form the Wright Company in 1910, where they began building and selling airplanes. However, Wilbur—always confident and steadfast—quickly became preoccupied with the many patent infringement lawsuits the Wrights had filed. It was as much a matter of principle as money. The Wrights believed their invention was uniquely their own and revolutionary, and that they should be duly credited and compensated for their contribution to the world. Tired and stressed from the burden of litigation, Wilbur contracted typhoid fever in April of 1912. He died on May 30th at the age of 45. 

Orville sold his interest in the Wright Company in 1915 and settled into the role of aviation elder statesmen and national folk hero. In 1916, Orville finally gave up the lease on the modest bicycle shop in which he and Wilbur did much of their pioneering aeronautical work, and moved to a new laboratory he had built nearby. He spent much of the remaining 32 years of his life upholding the reputation he and Wilbur had earned. He often consulted with government agencies and private aircraft companies. He received 11 honorary degrees from universities in Europe and the United States, along with dozens of awards and medals.  

Ironically, flying became an unpleasant experience for him because the vibration in flight severely irritated his sciatic nerve—a lingering condition from a crash in 1908. He flew as a pilot for the last time in 1918, and as a passenger only a few times after that. Luckily, he went on to live a long life. After experiencing a second heart attack in four months on January 27th, 1948, he died three days later at the age of 76. 

Today the Wright brothers’ names are part of the national cultural identity, and the Wright Flyer is an icon of ingenuity and technical creativity. More than a century after they launched the aerial age, the Wright brothers continue to awe and inspire. 

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• Records and Firsts

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Stories from the smithsonian.

Get to know the people who have shaped the Smithsonian since its founding in 1846, through their letters, diaries, oral histories, and photographs.

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The Wright Brothers: Pioneers in Aviation

The brothers began by searching for information on aeronautics from their local library. Once they had gone through all of the locally available information, Wilbur Wright wrote to the Smithsonian Institution on May 30, 1899, asking for Smithsonian publications on aeronautics and suggestions for other readings. At this time, Samuel P. Langley was Secretary of the Smithsonian, and he had done extensive aeronautical research. He, too, was working on building the first flying machine. Secretary Langley was devastated when the Wright Brothers beat him with their first successful flight in 1903.

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• What is a Primary Source?

PRIMARY SOURCES

• Letter Dated May 30, 1899
• Letter Dated June 14, 1899
• Letter Dated October 20, 1902
• Letter Dated November 7, 1902
• Letter Dated April 17, 1903
• Letter Dated June 8, 1903 

FURTHER EXPLORATION

• 1903 Wright Flyer , National Air and Space Museum.
• 1909 Wright Flyer , National Air and Space Museum.
• Technical Drawings of the 1903 Wright Flyer , from the National Museum of Air and Space Archives.
• " The Great Race for a Flying Machine ," Smithsonian Mobile
• Wright Brothers National Memorial  located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, part of the National Park Service.
• "The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age" , National Air and Space Museum exhibit and online exhibit.
• Crouch, Tom D. The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. New York, New York: W.W. Norton, 1989.