Wright, Wilbur
Along with his brother Orville, he invented, built, and flew the world's first successful airplane.
Most quoted
"The difficulties which obstruct the pathway to success in flying machine construction are of three general classes: (1) Those which relate to the construction of the sustaining wings; (2) those which relate to the generation and application of the power required to drive the machine through the air; (3) those relating to the balancing and steering of the machine after it is actually in flight."
— from Speech to Western Society of Engineers, 1901
"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously at the birds soaring freely through space, at tremendous speed, without any obstruction, without any effort, in a leisurely and graceful manner."
— from Some Aeronautical Experiments, 1900
"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously at the birds soaring freely through space, at tremendous speed, without effort, in a leisurely way, on the crest of the air current."
— from Speech to the Western Society of Engineers, 1900
All quotes by Wright, Wilbur (377)
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
The machine is only an instrument; the man is the master.
The greatest invention of all time is the human mind.
It is not the machine that is important, but the idea.
The air is an ocean, and the airplane is a ship.
The birds have taught us everything we know about flying.
The future of flight is in the hands of those who dare to dream.
We did not have the advantage of a college education, but we had the advantage of a good home.
The greatest joy in life is to create something new.
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
The airplane is a symbol of man's triumph over nature.
The air is not a vacuum, but a fluid.
The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.
The greatest danger in life is not to take risks.
The sky is not the limit, it's just the beginning.
We were not born to be grounded.
The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants in life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.
The airplane is a tool, like a hammer or a saw.
The greatest adventure is to explore the unknown.
The wind is our friend, if we know how to use it.
Contemporaries of Wright, Wilbur
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Wilbur (1867–1912).