-
Milton Wright appointed preacher
The United Brethren Church appoints Milton Wright, Wilbur and Orville's father, to be a preacher there. -
Civil War ends
The US had been involved in a Civil War where both sides used tethered balloons to scout the enemy. It ends in 1865. Abraham Lincoln, the US President at the time, is assassinated during this year. -
Work on the Transcontinental Railroad begins
-
Wilbur Wright born
-
First public flying exhibit organized
-
Wind tunnels invented
The first wind tunnel is invented and proves that cambered(curved) wings produce more lift than straight wings. -
Orville Wright born
-
First attempt of powered flight
This was the first recorded attempt to fly a powered plane, but it was not successful. -
Katharine Wright born
Katharine was the only daughter in the Wright family. She was born on the same day Orville turned 3. -
Important inventions
The first 4-cycle combustion engine is produced(these types of engines are later used in cars). The phonograph is also invented during this year. Work on the first AC motor starts a few years later. -
Wright brothers start building their first model flyer
Milton Wright buys Wilbur and Orville a toy helicopter for them to play with. When it breaks, they start building copies of it immediately. -
First manned glider
The first manned glider is flown in America. Also during this year, Susan Wright (the mother) shows symptoms of tuberculosis and dies a few years later. -
First steam powered plane flown
-
Wilbur tests aircraft control systems
-
Period: to
Wright brothers fly their first manned gliders
The Wrights test their control system on a glider they build and fly at Kitty Hawk, but it does not produce enough lift to make many flights. The next year, they test a second glider which also performs poorly, so they build a wind tunnel to conduct research on wing shapes. They build another glider based on these tests and it performs well. They refine their control systems at Kitty Hawk. -
Wrights' first successful powered flight
The Wright brothers fly the first controlled and sustained powered flight at Kitty Hawk. Samuel Langley from Smithsonian also tries to build one and fails. Two years later they build their first practical powered plane, which they later demonstrate. -
Wrights build first practical powered plane
-
Wright brothers demonstrate their plane
The Wright brothers demonstrate their airplane in Europe and America, but Orville is injured badly in a crash and his passenger becomes the first to die in a plane crash. The next year, the Wrights demonstrate their plane again and begin manufacturing airplanes and teaching pilots. -
Important discoveries and inventions
In 1908, oil is discovered in the Middle East and the Ford car company makes their first Model T automobile. In 1909, Richard Peary reaches the North Pole, Ernest Rutherford formulates the structure of the atom, and Louis Bleriot flies across the English Channel. -
"Vin Fiz" crosses America
The Vin Fiz, a Wright plane named after a drink, crosses America in 84 days. -
Wilbur Wright dies
Wilbur dies of typhoid fever in Dayton, Ohio, the same place where his brother was born. Orville and Katharine buy land in the state where they build a new house, Hawthorn Hill. -
Period: to
WWI
War is declared in Europe and quickly expands to become the first World War. During this war, airplanes are used extensively for fighting, bombing, and scouting. -
Smithsonian claims they could have made the first plane
Smithsonian is desperate to prove they could have been first to making a practical plane, so they tried to gather evidence to prove this. They made many improvements to their plane, flew it and claimed this supported their point. Later, they publish a report saying that Langley's plane was the first "capable of flight", beginning a bitter feud with Orville Wright. Twenty-seven years later, in 1942, Smithsonian finally recognizes the Wright brothers as the first to sustain powered flight. -
Orville designs his last plane
-
Navy planes successfully circle the world
-
Construction of the Wright brothers monument
-
Great Depression begins
-
Orville invents a new printing press
Orville invents a press that prints on and cuts out wood. It is used to make toy airplanes. -
Last recorded flight of an original Wright airplane
-
Period: to
WWII
-
Orville Wright dies
Orville died of a heart attack in 1948, living many years longer than Wilbur had, although this was probably caused by the stress of those years.
