Wright, Orville
Along with his brother Wilbur, he invented, built, and flew the world's first successful airplane.
Most quoted
"The first successful flight was made on December 17, 1903. We were in the air for 12 seconds and flew 120 feet. It was the first time in the history of the world that a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started."
— from Official statement/letter, 1903
"The first flight lasted only 12 seconds, but it was nevertheless the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in full flight, had sailed forward without reduction of speed, and had finally landed at a point as high as that from which it started."
— from Letter to his father, December 17, 1903, 1903
"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their tedious travels across prairies and mountains and deserts, looked enviously at the birds soaring freely through space, at the swiftness of their flight, and at the ease with which they seemingly moved at will through the air."
— from Speech to the Aero Club of America, 1908
All quotes by Wright, Orville (384)
We built our own wind tunnel.
The airplane has changed the way we live, work, and travel.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
The airplane is a testament to the power of teamwork.
The sky is calling.
If we worked on the assumption that what is currently regarded as impossible is impossible, we would never have achieved anything.
The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their weary journeys over the earth, looked enviously at the birds soaring freely through space, at the unlimited highway of the air.
The only mystery in the universe is the mystery of the human mind.
The air, like the sea, is an untamed mistress, and we are but her humble servants.
The bird is the word.
I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother, Wilbur, that man would not fly for 50 years. Two years later we ourselves made the first flight.
We did not have to be geniuses. We just had to be persistent.
The airplane has made the world a smaller place, but not necessarily a friendlier one.
It wasn't a matter of luck; it was a matter of hard work and careful planning.
We were just two boys from Ohio who liked to tinker.
The machine itself is nothing. The art is in the handling of it.
The only thing that counts is the experiment.
We had no idea it would change the world, we just wanted to see if we could do it.
The air is a vast ocean, on which we are destined to sail.
We were not afraid to fail, only afraid not to try.
Contemporaries of Wright, Orville
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Orville (1871–1948).