The Record (Bergen County, NJ) December 17, 2003
Wright stuff
SOURCE: North Jersey Media Group
Wilbur Wright was born April 16, 1867, in Millville, Ind., the third of five children of United Brethren Church Bishop Milton Wright and his wife, Susan Catharine Wright. Orville, the couple's fourth child, was born Aug. 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio.
Among the brothers' enterprises were a printing firm and a bicycle shop. Both of these ventures showcased their mechanical aptitude, business sense, and originality, and were a continuation of their lifelong partnerships.
Orville was adventurous by nature and driven to succeed. Wilbur was an avid reader. These complementary traits would serve them as they journeyed down the path of greatness.
Inspired by the innovative German glider pilot Otto Lilienthal, the brothers paid close attention to his success and eventual fatal error, building and flying their own gliders as steppingstones to powered flight. Their historic flight was testament to their persistence and commitment to achieving their goals.
Even after making history, their achievement was doubted and undermined. With persistence, Wilbur and Orville were able to win over the public and the bureaucrats.
In 1908 and 1909 Wilbur's air show thrilled audiences abroad and at home. He set flying records in Le Mans, France.
Wilbur died May 30, 1912, of typhoid. After his death, Orville carried on their legacy. He sold the Wright company in 1916 and built an aeronautics laboratory, and returned to what made the Wrights famous: inventing.
Orville died in Dayton, Ohio, on Jan. 30 1948, at age 76. Orville's home from 1914 until his death, Hawthorn Hill in Oakwood, Ohio, is still a tourist attraction. He and Wilbur designed the house, but Wilbur died before it was completed.
The brothers received many awards and honors, individually and as a team, while they were alive and posthumously.
SOURCES: NASA; warbirdalley.com; theaerodrome.com; wfu.edu; blackbirds.net; globalaircraft.org; allstar.fiu.edu; www.army.mil; pbs.org; globalsecurity.org; www.airshipsonline.com; about.com; airdisaster.com; centennialofflight.gov; sprucegoose.org; lindberghfoundation.org; goremeballoons.com; flyingmachines.org; fiddlersgreen.net; "The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Book Of Flight"; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc.; "100 Years of Flight," by Bill Sweetman.
RESEARCH BY DOROTHY FERSCH, LEN IANNACCONE, MADELEINE NASH, AND PAUL WILDER / STAFF LIBRARIANS
© Copyright 2003, Bergen Record Corporation
