This story was originally published by the Ohio History Connection on Aug. 9, 2022. It’s being republished here through a collaborative agreement.
DAYTON — Whether you’re traveling by plane for your summer vacation or just watching planes buzz by overhead, remember the two Ohio men who helped make flight possible for humanity.
August 19, Orville Wright’s birthday, is National Aviation Day. Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first people in history to successfully make a “free, controlled and sustained flight in a power-driven, heavier than air machine.”
Wilbur Wright was born in Indiana on April 16, 1867, and Orville Wright was born in Dayton on Aug. 19, 1871.
According to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the Wright brothers “were proud to be from Ohio and believed that growing up there gave them certain advantages in life.”
Although the Wright brothers made their first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they spent much of their lives in Dayton. Though neither of the brothers ever attended college, they had brilliant minds, and they spent much of their childhood in Ohio inventing various machines.
As they grew up during the late 1800s, the pair operated a printing shop, published newspapers, and ran a bicycle business called the Wright Cycle Company together.
After years of aviation research and speculation, the brothers traveled to North Carolina to begin testing their aircraft. Despite initial failures, the Wright brothers made their first successful flight on Dec. 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
They returned to Dayton and began fundraising to produce their flying machines.
In 1906, the brothers received a patent for their invention. In 1909, the Wright brothers created the Wright Company to “manufacture and sell their airplanes.” The Wright Company buildings became the site of the first airplane factory in America.
The Wright brothers manufactured airplanes and operated a flight school at Huffman Prairie Flying Field, located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
Wilbur died in 1913 from typhoid fever, and in 1915 Orville sold the company to a syndicate.
From then on, Orville primarily focused on his own aviation research, though he still served as a consulting engineer for the Wright Company. Orville died from a heart attack on Jan. 27, 1948.
Ohio citizens keep the Wright brothers’ memories alive through preserving many places associated with them. Families can visit several Wright landmarks in Ohio, including Huffman Prairie, the Wright Company Factory, Hawthorn Hill, the Wright Cycle Company, and the Wright Brothers National Museum.
Even if you don’t physically visit these sites online to learn about aviation history in Ohio.
