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Orville and Wilbur Wright

by Simon from Westerville


Orville Wright was born on August 19th, 1871. His brother Wilbur was born April 16th, 1867. Wilbur moved from Indiana to Dayton, Ohio when he was a toddler. Their father was named Milton and their mother’s name was Susan. They had older brothers named Reuchlin, and Lorin. They also had a younger sister named Katharine.


When Orville and Wilbur’s dad brought a flying toy home for them they improved it by making it fly longer. Orville was caught fixing it at school. The little toy inspired them a lot. When the boys were in elementary school their mother got very ill. She barely made it alive.


Their father brought home a lot of toys. After they finished high school the Wright brothers had a print shop. They soon got bored and started a bike store. It moved locations quite often.


Both Wright brothers married no one. They didn’t have time to marry or adopt. They had no military experience.


Their career was the print press and bike store. They eventually quit the printing press business and gave their attention to bikes. They also divided their time with the fascination of flying.

Orville had Wilbur to look up to. They helped each other with math problems. They also helped each other with learning how to fly.

They made new models of bikes. These models helped them learn how to build gliders. Then they made airplanes with engines. Finally, they flew in a field and people spread the word about the flying machine.

The brothers did it! They made flight. The USA at the time was trying to be the first ones to fly. The Wright brothers were the first people in the world to fly using engines.

Orville died in 1948 and is buried in Dayton. Wilbur died in 1912 and is buried in Dayton too. What I think is ironic about the Wright brothers are that they both died of a heart attack. Orville and Wilbur showed the world how to fly. They made the first airplane too. They followed the hero ways.

Page created on 5/12/2011 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/12/2011 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.