Wilbur and Orville Wright
Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright: Aviation Pioneers
The Wright brothers were inventors and aviation pioneers credited with building the world’s first successful airplane. Their design made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The brothers’ fundamental breakthrough was three-axis control which enabled pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and maintain equilibrium. They developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. They gained their mechanical skills for building the “flying machine” in their shop where they repaired bicycles, printing presses, motors and other machinery. Their bicycle shop employee, Charlie Taylor, built the first airplane engine in close collaboration with the Wright brothers. The Wright brothers’ status as inventors of the airplane has been contested by many. Their first patent did not claim inventions of a “flying machine” but rather the invention of a system of aerodynamic controls that manipulated a flying machine surfaces. The Wright Company was incorporated in 1909 and the brothers continued to develop aircraft design.
This portfolio of drawings by Frank Lemon contains seven lithographic plates. Shown is the Wright brothers’ “Strange Contraption” that took flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903.