Timeline
1867 — Wilbur Wright is born near Millville, Indiana.
1871 — Orville Wright is born in Dayton, Ohio.
1878 — Wright brothers build their first aircraft, a rubber-band powered helicopter they call a "bat."
1885 — A sports injury leads to health problems that prevent Wilbur from attending college.
1886 — Orville starts a printing business while he is still in high school.
1889 — Orville publishes a newspaper, the "West Side News," and Wilbur joins him as editor. The newspaper business does not profit and the Wrights return to "job" printing.
1893 — The Wright brothers begin to sell and repair bicycles.
1895 — The Wrights manufacture their own bicycles, the "St. Clair" and the "Van Cleve." The bike business is profitable.
1896 — The Wrights take an interest in the "flying problem."
1899 — Wilbur devises an aerodynamic control system for aircraft and builds a kite to test it.
1900 to 1902 — The Wright brothers fly gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, refining their control system. At home in Dayton, Ohio, they build a wind tunnel and conduct research on wing shapes.
1903 — The Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained powered flights at Kitty Hawk.
1904 to 1905 — The Wrights develop a practical airplane near Dayton.
1908 — The Wright brothers demonstrate a two-passenger airplane in Europe and America.
1909 — The Wrights begin to manufacture airplanes.
1912 — Wilbur Wright dies of typhoid in Dayton, Ohio.
1915 — Orville Wright sells his airplane- company.
1932 — The Wright Brothers Monument at Kitty Hawk is dedicated.
1938 — The Wright Bicycle Shop and Wright home are opened to the public at Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village.
1948 — Orville Wright dies of a heart attack in Dayton, Ohio and the Wright brothers' first powered airplane, the 1903 "Flyer," is enshrined at the Smithsonian Institution.
1871 — Orville Wright is born in Dayton, Ohio.
1878 — Wright brothers build their first aircraft, a rubber-band powered helicopter they call a "bat."
1885 — A sports injury leads to health problems that prevent Wilbur from attending college.
1886 — Orville starts a printing business while he is still in high school.
1889 — Orville publishes a newspaper, the "West Side News," and Wilbur joins him as editor. The newspaper business does not profit and the Wrights return to "job" printing.
1893 — The Wright brothers begin to sell and repair bicycles.
1895 — The Wrights manufacture their own bicycles, the "St. Clair" and the "Van Cleve." The bike business is profitable.
1896 — The Wrights take an interest in the "flying problem."
1899 — Wilbur devises an aerodynamic control system for aircraft and builds a kite to test it.
1900 to 1902 — The Wright brothers fly gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, refining their control system. At home in Dayton, Ohio, they build a wind tunnel and conduct research on wing shapes.
1903 — The Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained powered flights at Kitty Hawk.
1904 to 1905 — The Wrights develop a practical airplane near Dayton.
1908 — The Wright brothers demonstrate a two-passenger airplane in Europe and America.
1909 — The Wrights begin to manufacture airplanes.
1912 — Wilbur Wright dies of typhoid in Dayton, Ohio.
1915 — Orville Wright sells his airplane- company.
1932 — The Wright Brothers Monument at Kitty Hawk is dedicated.
1938 — The Wright Bicycle Shop and Wright home are opened to the public at Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village.
1948 — Orville Wright dies of a heart attack in Dayton, Ohio and the Wright brothers' first powered airplane, the 1903 "Flyer," is enshrined at the Smithsonian Institution.