The Wright Brothers Biography

Orville Wright was born in Dayton, United States (1871 – 1948) and Wilbur Wright was born in Millville, Indiana, United States, (1867 -1912). American inventors, the Wright brothers, the name with which they have been recognized in the history of aviation. They studied only the preparatory school, but they became empirical engineers, thanks to their experience, natural instinct in the use of the machines and their inventive ability. His father who served as bishop from a young age taught him the art of debating. After finishing the dinner, Bishop Wright proposed a discussion content for the children to defend their respective opinions while preserving mutual respect.

Over time, this would be one of the skills that the Wright brothers would be able to use, with it they would approve various theories and discover the strengths and weaknesses of each. The Wright brothers, especially Wilbur, being a child already manufactured mechanical toys using the parts of other mechanical toys that his father provided them. To be just a few children had a great capacity for learning and intellectual curiosity.

As they grew and completed their basic studies, they set out to earn money to finance future projects, so they decided to create a bicycle repair business named Wright Cycle Co., where they could apply and polish their exceptional skills for practical mechanics. and take advantage of Orville Wright’s extensive knowledge of his experience as a cyclist. Over time and with the profits of the business in 1888 established a printing press and a year later published the West Side News, Dayton, Ohio. The first issue comes to light on March 1, 1889.

Simultaneously the Wright brothers carried out investigations concerning the flight, they took as a foundation the works of the German Otto Lilienthal; also, the studies of the American engineer and architect S. P. Langley, who deployed different principles of aerodynamics and explained the process by which air can hold the wings of an airplane. Although for our judgment the vision of the Wright was ambitious and very interesting for the time this feat went almost unnoticed since the attempts of man to fly in heavier devices than air had no recognition as a result of the successive failures of Engineer Langley, who had invested $ 50,000 in official funds between the years 1897 and 1903.

“Men become wise, as well as rich, more for what they keep than for what they receive.” Wilbur Wright

Despite the lack of approval and collaboration from the government and the lack of propaganda in the press, the brothers created their first helix in the year 1903, 35% more effective than others that worked at the time. Thanks to this, the situation changed dramatically when, in 1905, the prestigious scientific journal Scientific American wrote a detailed report on the work of the brothers. For example, the article highlighted the invention of the wind tunnel, the introduction of elements such as the ailerons, the vertical rudder, the horizontal elevator and the ability to completely control the movement of the airplane in three directions needed to fly.

In just eleven months, December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved one of the greatest feats in the history of mankind: the first power flight on a plane built by themselves, in the plains of Kill Devil, in North Carolina, in the presence of only five witnesses, Wilbur made a flight of approximately one minute where he traveled about 850 feet. The brothers made more than three flights that day. This moment contained great relevance for the field of aviation and future engineering studies. Encouraged by this great event, the Wrights are given the task of creating a more evolved glider called Flyer III. Their success was such that the United States Army decided to buy their first plane from the Wright brothers.

It is essential to mention that discipline and perseverance were pillars to achieve these feats, spent entire nights reading and consulting information about aviation available at home and in the municipal library, they wrote to the Smithsonian Institution to request materials. They also bought each of the books that the museum librarians had recommended and read them several times.

The Wrights began to be recognized worldwide, Wilbur Wright was invited by his friend the engineer Octave Chanute, to issue a successful conference at the Western Society of Engineers of Chicago. On the other hand, they held exhibitions of their invention on the European and American continent and founded the American Wright Company in 1912, Orville took over the of the company until 1915, at which time he sold his shares and abandoned it to devote himself solely to aeronautical research. Performing later as a consulting engineer.

In one of the brothers’ most celebrated books, Orville Wright describes the time when they wanted to fly for the first time. It was the year 1878 and his father had brought a toy helicopter from one of his trips. The brothers fragmented it in a short time to reinvent it. Later, as a children’s game, they built larger versions of the toy, although they did not make it fly. It took years for Orville and Wilbur to analyze and understand the exponential relationship between size and power. Trying to fly required not only knowledge of the laws of physics, but concretely execute a new science, in this case, aerodynamics.

“If we all work on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of Advance.” Orville Wright

Wilbur Wright contracted an illness on a trip to Boston in 1912. Diagnosed with typhoid fever, he died on May 30, 1912, at the family home in Dayton, Ohio. Decades later Orville Wright died on January 30, 1948, in the same place. The unnoticed children of a preacher, repairers, and manufacturers of a small bicycle business became famous in less than a decade: they were awarded by kings, requested by journalists and invited by presidents. Their story is as extraordinary as it is inspiring. The two brothers achieved that the best and most intelligent scientists of the following epochs were based on their studies and inventions.