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 had to learn from our failures as much as from our successes.
The most dangerous part of flying is the takeoff and landing. Once you're in the air, you're relatively safe.
We were not the first to risk our lives for flight, but we were the first to succeed without serious injury.
We were just two brothers who loved to tinker and dream.
Contemporaries of Wright, Orville
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Orville (1871–1948).