Wright, Wilbur
| Name |
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| born on | 16 April 1867 | ||
| Place | Millville IN, USA, 39n55, 85w15 | ||
| Timezone | LMT m85w15 (is local mean time) | ||
| Data source |
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| Astrology data |   26°15'   or 
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Biography
American pioneer in aviation who, along with his brother Oroville, invented and built the first successful airplane. The men first became interested in flight in 1896 and began experimenting in 1900. Their first successful flight was on 12/17/1903, on Kill Devil Hill at Kittyhawk, NC.
Wilbur was four years older that Orville, two of five kids in a close and loving family. Both boys loved mechanics from the time they were kids. Wilbur was the honor student, scheduled for Yale when he had an accident during ice-hockey. He was hit in the mouth by another player’s stick and all his top teeth were knocked out. A few weeks later he developed heart palpitations and spent the next three years at home, depressed, cloistered and reading from his parent’s extensive library.
Wilbur began to work as Editor for Orville's newspaper, then the two opened a bicycle shop. They went into production in 1896. Wilbur seemed "woman-shy" and said he could not afford to keep a wife and a flying machine both. Neither man ever married, but their sister Katherine took over the household when their mom died.
On the fateful day of their first flight, Orville took the prone position in the center of their contraption, winning that right by the toss of a coin. In that short flight, the Wright brothers had completed a dream of mankind, flying, and begun an industry that would eventually lead to the stars.
Wilbur contacted typhoid fever in Boston and died at home on 5/30/1912, Dayton, OH.
Relationships
- sibling relationship with Wright, Orville (born 19 August 1871)
- compare to chart of Aviation: First flight (born 17 December 1903)
Events
- Death, Cause unspecified 30 May 1912 (Age 45)
Source Notes
Penfield Collection spec 1:20 PM, time unknown
Categories
- Vocation : Travel : Pilot/ private
- Notable : Famous : Founder/ originator (Airplane)
- Notable : Awards : Hall of Fame
- Notable : Famous : Historic figure (Flight pioneer)
- Notable : Book Collection : American Book
