First Flight of Wright 1903 Flyer at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, December 17, 1903

Summary

When John T. Daniels snapped the shutter on Orville Wright's camera, he captured one of the most significant images ever taken. The photo not only shows the moment of liftoff during the Wright brothers' first flight, but also the instant that heavier-than-air flight began. Daniels, a crewman at the Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station, had never used a camera before.

When John T. Daniels snapped the shutter on Orville Wright's camera, he captured one of the most significant images ever taken. The photo not only shows the moment of liftoff during the Wright brothers' first flight, but also the instant that heavier-than-air flight began. Daniels, a crewman at the Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station, had never used a camera before.

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

17 December 1903

Creators

Daniels, John T., 1873-1948 

Creator Notes

Originally photographed by John T. Daniels, one of the men from the Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station who assisted the Wright Brothers in 1903.

Collection Title

Wright Brothers Collection 

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

82.300.1623.P.188.22016

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 8 in

Width: 10 in

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