Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867. Orville was born on August 19, 1871. They had two older brothers, Reuchlin and Lorin, and Katherine was their sister.
The Wright children had a very good childhood. Orville wrote, “We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interest; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity.” In 1878, their father brought home a toy called a Penaud helicopter. It flew almost fifty feet. This sparked their interest in building a flying machine.
In 1905, the Wright brothers built an airplane that could fly for more than half an hour at a time. In 1908, Orville made the world’s first flight that lasted more than one hour at Fort Myer, Virginia. Later that same year Wilbur made over 100 flights near Le Mans, France. Orville and Wilbur Wright were two brothers who were heroes for building the first airplane because of their determination to never give up on their vision.
Wilbur died on May 30, 1912 and Orville felt very sad and alone. After Orville retired he lived a quiet life in Dayton, Ohio. He died on January 30, 1948.
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Last edited 5/17/2010 12:00:00 AM