The Birth of Flight - Page 2

	Orville Wright				Wilbur Wright

Orville and Wilbur Wright were the sons of Milton and Susan Wright. Milton served as an educator, a minister, and as a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Susan Milton had seven children, of which only four sons and one daughter survived past infancy. Wilbur, the third son, was born in 1867 in Millville, Indiana. In 1870, the family moved to Dayton, Ohio, where Susan gave birth to Orville in 1871. None of the Wright children had middle names. Instead, their father gave them distinct first names. Wilbur was named for Wilbur Fiske and Orville for Orville Dewey, both clergymen that Milton respected.

Wilbur and Orville did very well in high school, although Orville was known for getting into mischief. Unlike their older brothers, Orville and Wilbur did not attend the college. They did have extraordinary technical ability and a highly developed method for solving problems in mechanical design. Their father traveled widely on church business and always brought back gifts. His gifts were meant to encourage his children's interests and expose them to the world beyond their neighborhood. One day, Milton presented Wilbur and Orville with a rubber band-powered toy helicopter. The toy fascinated them. They made several copies of the toy, and decided some day they would build an aircraft in which humans could ride.