The Wright Brothers
The Wright Brothers were famous for creating the world's first efficient aircraft.
Wilbur Wright was born on 16 April 1867 in Indiana, USA. Orville was born four years later on 19 August 1871 in Ohio. They had five siblings, two of whom died in infancy. Their father Milton Wright was a Church Bishop, married to Susan. They were said to be strict parents but encouraged a love of learning. In 1878 when Orville and Wilbur were aged 7 and 11, they received a toy helicopter as a gift from their father. This is what is said to have started their dream of flying. Over the following few years the two brothers tried to build bigger versions of the helicopter but it seemed that the bigger they built it the less time it would stay in the air. Feeling a bit downhearted they decided to stick to building kites. During the winter of 1885-1886 Wilbur was injured when a hockey stick hit his face. This resulted in the loss of some of his front teeth. Even though it was not a serious incident, it resulted in him being a lot more withdrawn, and he abandoned his athletic activities which he had previously enjoyed. A few weeks later it started to affect his heart and also gave him depression. He ended up staying at home for four years. While he was at home he helped his mother, Susan, who had a fatal disease called Tuberculosis. He also read a large number of books from the family library. The Brothers created their own printing press together in 1889. They started making weekly papers and then started publishing daily ones. In 1892 they sold their business and started a bicycle shop. In 1896 they started creating their own brand of the design that is known today, rather than the “Penny-Farthing”. That same year they managed to design a Glider that could fly in the air for 12 seconds. It was called The Wright Flyer. This was not an adequate flying time, nor could it hold many people (it could only take one person at a time) and therefore a new design had to be created. |
The Brothers had learnt many things from their various careers and therefore, despite not having a great education, gained good insight on how to design a flyable machine. The Wright Brothers chose to keep a similar design and in 1899 Wilbur wrote a letter to Willis L. Moore, Chief of the US Weather Bureau at the time, to find out where they could expect high wind conditions in the country. The first place that matched the brothers’ requirements was the rural location of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. During 1900-1902 the brothers experimented here with gliders, kites and a wind tunnel that they had invented to test the design of wings. The Wright Brothers built their first effective plane and flew it in 1903. In 1905 they built a design that could fly for over half an hour. In 1908 Orville flew for over an hour across Fort Myer, Virginia in a planned visual communication to show the design to the US Army. Following this, the Wright Planes became the world's first military planes.
The Wright Brothers did not marry. Wilbur died at the age of 45 due to a deadly disease called Typhoid. Orville died of a heart attack when he was 77. The Wright brothers invented the airplane and because of their invention all people can travel around the world in less than a day. The Wright Brothers had a very similar life to Anh Do. This was because they had their troubles but always had goals. Even when life seemed to beat them down, they always stood back up and carried on. BibliographyBibliography:
Garden of Praise The Wright Brothers http://www.gardenofpraise.com/ibdwrigh.htm 4/3/13 Wright House The Wright Brothers: Wilbur and Orville Wright http://www.wright-house.com/wright-brothers/Wrights.html 4/3/13 Wikipedia The Wright Brothers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers 4/3/13 National Air and Space Museum The Wright Brothers http://airandspace.si.edu/wrightbrothers/index_full.cfm 4/3/13 |