(1867–1912 and 1871–1948, respectively). Two young American brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, made the dream of flying a reality when they built and flew the first motor-driven airplane in 1903. The technology and design that they used in the original 1903 model is still the basis for modern airplanes today. The Wright brothers' airplane made many other achievements possible as well, including commercial air travel.

Early lives

Wilbur and Orville were sons of the minister Milton Wright and his wife Susan. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana. Orville was born four years later, on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. Milton and Susan Wright encouraged the children to pursue learning. Wilbur and Orville, like their father, were independent thinkers and confident in their own talents. Susan Wright was a gifted mechanic and taught the boys her skills. In later years Wilbur and Orville said that their fascination with flying began when their father gave them a toy helicopter. They used the helicopter as a model and built other copies of it.

Beginning work in flight

Neither Wilbur nor Orville attended college. In 1890 they set up a print shop together, and a few years later they opened a bicycle sales and repair shop. They eventually began to make their own bicycles, which gave them valuable experience in designing and building machines. In 1896 Wilbur and Orville read about the work of Otto Lilienthal, a famous German glider pioneer, and became interested in airplanes. The gliders that Lilienthal and others were experimenting with were early forms of airplanes that flew by coasting on wind currents rather than being powered by a motor.

The Wright brothers knew that a successful airplane would need wings to lift the airplane off the ground, power to move the airplane through the air, and a way to control the machine while it was in flight. The brothers created a kite in Dayton in the summer of 1899. They experimented with the kite and discovered that they could cause it to climb, dive, and tilt to the right or left. After this, Wilbur and Orville began to design their first life-sized glider.

Gliders

In 1900 the brothers decided to continue their experiments in Kitty Hawk and later in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. These isolated areas were ideal locations because of their high winds, tall dunes (hills of sand) from which to glide, and soft sand for landings. Wilbur and Orville tested their first two gliders in 1900 and 1901. However, the gliders did not perform as well as the brothers had hoped, so they experimented with the effects of wind on objects in order to improve the glider's wings. Using what they learned in their experiments, the Wright brothers built a third glider and tested it in 1902. This glider performed perfectly, and Wilbur and Orville next designed and built a powered airplane.

Powered flight

The powered plane had twin propellers and, like the brothers' third glider, could be controlled by the pilot. In Kill Devil Hills at about 10:35 on the morning of December 17, 1903, Orville made the first successful powered flight. Although the airplane wobbled quite a bit, it flew a distance of 120 feet (37 meters) in 12 seconds. As the day went on Wilbur and Orville became better at controlling the airplane. During the fourth and final flight of the day, Wilbur flew 852 feet (260 meters) in 59 seconds. For the first time in history, a heavier-than-air machine that was completely controlled by the pilot flew above the ground.

Throughout 1904 and 1905, the Wrights continued to improve the design of their machine. By 1905 the brothers could remain in the air for about 40 minutes at a time, performing circles and other maneuvers. People began to hear about the brothers and their powered airplane. However, Wilbur and Orville were hesitant to show the public the airplane for fear that other inventors would steal their designs.

Flight businesses

The Wright brothers received a patent for their airplane in 1906. In 1908 they signed a contract for the sale of an airplane to the U.S. Army, and that same year, they signed a second agreement with a group of French investors interested in building and selling Wright flying machines.

Once they had the patent and two contracts, the brothers began demonstrating the plane in the United States and Europe. People who saw them fly were astounded, and the brothers became instant celebraties. Tragedy struck Orville during a flight display for the U.S. Army in 1908. His plane crashed, killing the passenger on board and severely injuring Orville, who eventually recovered.

In 1909 Wilbur and Orville formed the Wright Company. The company established a factory in Dayton and a flying field and flight school at Huffman Prairie in Ohio. Because people wanted to see airplanes flying in air shows, the brothers also started the Wright Exhibition Company in 1910. However, by 1911 several team members had died in airplane crashes, so the Wright brothers decided to close the company.

Later years

Wilbur Wright died on May 30, 1912, at the age of 41. After Wilbur's death, Orville ran the Wright Company until he sold it in 1915. He received honorary degrees and awards from universities and organizations across America and Europe. Orville also continued to work as an inventor. He created important improvements for airplanes and helped other inventors obtain patents.

Throughout his life, Orville continued to defend the idea that the Wright brothers were the inventors of the airplane. For many years he fought with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., over this issue. Smithsonian officials claimed that one of the secretaries of the institution, S.P. Langley, had been the first person to construct a machine that was capable of flight. Despite evidence that proved the Wright brothers were first, the Smithsonian refused to change their claim. Orville lent the restored 1903 airplane to a museum in London. He would not allow the machine to be returned to the United States until after the Smithsonian offered an apology in 1942. Today people can see that 1903 airplane in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. On January 30, 1948, Orville Wright died in Dayton, Ohio after having suffered a heart attack.