The Wright Brothers
Wilbur Wright was born in Millville, Indiana on April 16 in the year of 1867, and his brother, Orville Wright, was born in Dayton, Ohio four years later on August 19. They had two older brothers, Reuchlin, Lorin, and a sister, Kathrine. When Wilbur and Orville were boys, their father, Milton Wright had gotten them toys, such as spinning helicopters, which could fly. Then the brothers started making their own kites. As the brothers got older, they started a small newspaper and a bike repair shop.
The Wright brothers followed a glider project that was taking place in Europe and America. They then started to build their own gliders. The brothers would bring the gliders to a sandy beach area outside the town of Kitty Hawk where they would fly them. The brothers had friends that came to help them while they were there. The Wright brothers succeeded in flying because they never gave up.
On December 17, some of Orville and Wilbur’s friends from Kitty Hawk again came to help them. The brothers’ friends helped move the heavy craft and to serve as witnesses. Orville had the first turn. Then just after 10:30 that cold morning, he made the first powered airplane flight in history. It lasted twelve seconds and covered 120 feet. An hour after that, Wilbur made a short flight. Then Orville flew again and had a 200-foot flight. Finally, at noon, Wilbur made a flight that covered 852 feet and lasted nearly a minute. After that, the craft was flipped over by the wind and was damaged beyond repair. The brothers had achieved their goal. In 1908, the brothers made the first two-person flight in history.
May 30, 1912, Wilbur passed away, aged 45 years, 1 month, and 14 days. Orville Wright was the spokesman of flight till he died in 1948. Even though they are dead, that does not mean we have forgotten them. The Wright brothers’ achievements made other people start to work on gliders as well and now we have airplanes. Neil Armstrong walked the moon only 21 years after Orville Wright died. The Wright brothers now have a national memorial in Kill Devil Hill, NC.
For more information about the Wright Brothers:
http://ncpedia.org/aviation/wright-brothers