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- Wright Brothers - On December 14, 1903, Wilbur won a coin toss and made the first attempt to fly their latest machine. He stalled it on take-off, causing some minor damage. The plane was repaired, and Orville made the next attempt on December 17. At 10:35 a.m., he made the first heavier-than-air, machine powered flight in the world. In a flight lasting only 12 seconds and covering just 120 feet, Orville did what men and women had only dreamed of doing for centuries, he flew.
- August 26, 2011
- Collections - Video
Wright Brothers
On December 14, 1903, Wilbur won a coin toss and made the first attempt to fly their latest machine. He stalled it on take-off, causing some minor damage. The plane was repaired, and Orville made the next attempt on December 17. At 10:35 a.m., he made the first heavier-than-air, machine powered flight in the world. In a flight lasting only 12 seconds and covering just 120 feet, Orville did what men and women had only dreamed of doing for centuries, he flew.
- Wright Brothers Garden Shed - Orville and Wilbur Wright were enthusiastic photographers who took many shots of their family and friends. They also took numerous photos of their gliders and airplanes, and those images remain vital records of the airplane's invention. The brothers developed their glass plate negatives in a darkroom they built in the shed behind the family home.
- 1870-1900
- Collections - Artifact
Wright Brothers Garden Shed
Orville and Wilbur Wright were enthusiastic photographers who took many shots of their family and friends. They also took numerous photos of their gliders and airplanes, and those images remain vital records of the airplane's invention. The brothers developed their glass plate negatives in a darkroom they built in the shed behind the family home.
- Clipping Book, "The Wright Brothers 1903" - This scrapbook contains text and photos from the article "How We Made the First Flight Ten Years Ago." Written by Orville Wright, the piece was published in the December 1913 issue of <em>Flying</em>. Following his brother Wilbur's death in 1912, Orville spent the remainder of his life safeguarding their legacy as the inventors of the airplane.
- 1903-1923
- Collections - Artifact
Clipping Book, "The Wright Brothers 1903"
This scrapbook contains text and photos from the article "How We Made the First Flight Ten Years Ago." Written by Orville Wright, the piece was published in the December 1913 issue of Flying. Following his brother Wilbur's death in 1912, Orville spent the remainder of his life safeguarding their legacy as the inventors of the airplane.
- Wright Brothers - Wilbur and Orville, 1909-1912 - This postcard put the 1903 Wright Flyer -- and its builders, Wilbur and Orville Wright -- into context with other triumphs of engineering and invention. It surrounded the Wright brothers and their airplane with an anvil, a suspension bridge, drafting tools, a telephone, a stock ticker, a steam locomotive, and an ocean liner.
- 1909-1912
- Collections - Artifact
Wright Brothers - Wilbur and Orville, 1909-1912
This postcard put the 1903 Wright Flyer -- and its builders, Wilbur and Orville Wright -- into context with other triumphs of engineering and invention. It surrounded the Wright brothers and their airplane with an anvil, a suspension bridge, drafting tools, a telephone, a stock ticker, a steam locomotive, and an ocean liner.
- Bertha Wright, Age Five, Niece of the Wright Brothers, Daughter of Reuchlin Wright, 1901 - Neither Wilbur nor Orville Wright ever married or had children. But they delighted in their nieces and nephews. The brothers read to the youngsters, played games with them, made candy, and involved them in good-natured practical jokes. Bertha was one of four children born to Lulu and Reuchlin Wright. Reuchlin was an older brother to Wilbur and Orville.
- 1901
- Collections - Artifact
Bertha Wright, Age Five, Niece of the Wright Brothers, Daughter of Reuchlin Wright, 1901
Neither Wilbur nor Orville Wright ever married or had children. But they delighted in their nieces and nephews. The brothers read to the youngsters, played games with them, made candy, and involved them in good-natured practical jokes. Bertha was one of four children born to Lulu and Reuchlin Wright. Reuchlin was an older brother to Wilbur and Orville.
- Congressional Medal Honoring the Wright Brothers, 1909 - After Wilbur Wright's demonstrations at Le Mans, France, and Orville Wright's flights at Fort Myer, Virginia, accolades poured in for the brothers. At a grand celebration in Dayton in June 1909, Brigadier General James Allen, of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, presented them with a gold medal awarded by the United States Congress. This is a replica of that prize.
- March 04, 1909
- Collections - Artifact
Congressional Medal Honoring the Wright Brothers, 1909
After Wilbur Wright's demonstrations at Le Mans, France, and Orville Wright's flights at Fort Myer, Virginia, accolades poured in for the brothers. At a grand celebration in Dayton in June 1909, Brigadier General James Allen, of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, presented them with a gold medal awarded by the United States Congress. This is a replica of that prize.
- Wright Brothers First Airplane Flight, December 17, 1903 - 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.
- December 17, 1903
- Collections - Artifact
Wright Brothers First Airplane Flight, December 17, 1903
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.
- Lathe, Used by the Wright Brothers, circa 1895 - The Wright brothers' bicycle shop contained several large power tools primarily used for making and repairing bikes. Some were also used to build their early gliders and airplanes. The shop building did not have electricity, so the Putnam lathe, Crescent band saw and Barnes drill press were powered by overhead belts and shafts connected to a single-cylinder gas engine.
- circa 1895
- Collections - Artifact
Lathe, Used by the Wright Brothers, circa 1895
The Wright brothers' bicycle shop contained several large power tools primarily used for making and repairing bikes. Some were also used to build their early gliders and airplanes. The shop building did not have electricity, so the Putnam lathe, Crescent band saw and Barnes drill press were powered by overhead belts and shafts connected to a single-cylinder gas engine.
- Reproduction of Wright Brothers' Wind Tunnel inside Wright Cycle Shop, Greenfield Village, 1938 - When their glider did not perform as expected in 1901, Wilbur and Orville Wright determined that the standard lift tables -- used to predict the lift generated by aircraft wings -- were incorrect. The Wrights built a wind tunnel in their Dayton bicycle shop and calculated their own tables. This new data led directly to their success with the 1903 Wright Flyer.
- 1938
- Collections - Artifact
Reproduction of Wright Brothers' Wind Tunnel inside Wright Cycle Shop, Greenfield Village, 1938
When their glider did not perform as expected in 1901, Wilbur and Orville Wright determined that the standard lift tables -- used to predict the lift generated by aircraft wings -- were incorrect. The Wrights built a wind tunnel in their Dayton bicycle shop and calculated their own tables. This new data led directly to their success with the 1903 Wright Flyer.
- Bishop Wright, Lorin, Orville and Wilbur Wright at the Wright Brothers Homecoming Celebration, Dayton, Ohio, June 1909 - Five and a half years after their first flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright were honored for their achievement by their hometown of Dayton, Ohio. On June 17-18, 1909, banners decorated Dayton's streets, fireworks lit the sky, and the brothers received medals from the U.S. Congress, the State of Ohio, and the City of Dayton in a gala public ceremony.
- 17 June 1909-18 June 1909
- Collections - Artifact
Bishop Wright, Lorin, Orville and Wilbur Wright at the Wright Brothers Homecoming Celebration, Dayton, Ohio, June 1909
Five and a half years after their first flight, Wilbur and Orville Wright were honored for their achievement by their hometown of Dayton, Ohio. On June 17-18, 1909, banners decorated Dayton's streets, fireworks lit the sky, and the brothers received medals from the U.S. Congress, the State of Ohio, and the City of Dayton in a gala public ceremony.