Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana. He was the middle child in a family of five children. His father, Milton Wright, was a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. His mother was Susan Catherine Koerner.
The family later moved to Dayton, Ohio. As a child, Wilbur’s playmate was his younger brother, Orville Wright, born in 1871 in Dayton.
Did you know? Neither Wilbur nor Orville attended college, but their younger sister Katherine did.
Milton Wright’s preaching took him on the road frequently, and he often brought back small toys for his children. In 1878 he brought back a small model helicopter for his boys. Made of cork, bamboo and paper, and powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades, the model was based on a design by the French aeronautical pioneer Alphonse Pénaud. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, Wilbur and Orville would develop a lifelong love of aeronautics and flying.
The Wright Brothers’ Sister Was the Secret to Their Success
Wilbur was a bright and studious child and excelled in school. His personality was outgoing and robust, and he made plans to attend Yale University after high school. In the winter of 1885-86, an accident changed the course of Wilbur’s life. He was badly injured in an i
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The Spark In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright, two brothers from Dayton, OH, became the first people to fly a heavier than air, power controlled machine, known as the Wright Flyer. This did not simply happen overnight. The brothers had been tinkering with the idea of flight off and on since childhood. They were mechanically inclined young men who were inspired by the efforts of others.
In 1878, the brothers’ father, Milton Wright, brought home a rubber band powered toy helicopter. Designed by French aeronautical experimenter Alphonse Pénaud, this toy did not simply fall to the ground as expected. Rather it "flew across the room till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor." Though the fragile toy soon broke, Wilbur and Orville never forgot it. They even attempted to build their own toy helicopters. In later years, Orville accredited this childhood toy as being the object that sparked their interest in flight.
Throughout their lives, the brothers were involved in a variety of ventures to make money. But it wasn’t until 1892, when they formed the Wright Cycle Company to sell bicycles, that they found a successful business that also allowed them spare time for other projects. With the business doing rather well, the brothers also op