The Wright Brothers
by Thomas Peterson
Mini Biography For The Wright Brothers
Wilbur Wright was the older of the two brothers. He was born on April 16, 1867. His family had a total of five children. His parents were Milton and Susan Catherine Koerner Wright. Wilbur was always did really well in school. His goal was to attend Yale University, right after he graduated high school. Wilbur could not reach his goal because an accident had happened while he was playing some ice hockey. One of his team mates stick hit Wilbur right in the face. This injury lead Wilbur into depression because he could not receive his high school diploma. He could not attend Yale, so he went back to live with his family. He was always reading books that were in his family’s library. He also looked after his mother who had tuberculosis. She soon passed away in 1889.
Orville Wright was the younger of the two brothers and was born on August 19, 1871. He was born in Dayton, Ohio. His parents said as a child, he was always curious and wanted to learn new things. In 1881, the Wright family moved to Richmond, Indiana. This is where Orville developed a new love for kites. He would make the kites in the their new home. In 1884, the family moved back to Ohio. He attended the high school, Dayton Central High School. Orville wasn’t always the best student, he would always get side tracked with all of his hobbies. He focused on them instead of school. He soon dropped out of high school and opened his own print shop. He would work in this shop in the summer.
After their mothers death of tuberculosis in 1889, the Wright Brothers decided to dedicate themselves the making bicycles. They both had an interest in bikes. The opened up their own bicycle shop in 1892. In this shop, they would help fix and sell bicycles. They also made their own design of a bicycle in 1896. After this shop, they decided to experiment with wings. They would look at how birds would fly and see how they balanced their bodies to stay in the air. The Wright Brothers made the first free, successful flight on December 17, 1903. They did this four times that day, the longest flight was 59 seconds. The distance on this flight was 852 feet. They would sell this plane for $30,000. The Wright Brother weren’t done flying yet, Orville flew over six minutes, and Wilbur was in the passengers seat. This happened on May 25, 1910. After this, Orville brought his father, Milton Wright, who was 82 at the time, was his first and only flight of his life.
Wilbur Wright died in 1912, of the typhoid fever. After Wilbur's death, Orville gained control of their company. He decided to sell the company in 1915. Orville lived a lot longer than Wilbur did, he died on January 30, 1948 of his second heart attack. The Brothers are buried in the Wright family plot, which is located in Dayton, Ohio.
Questions
2. What was their wooden plane called?