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)
It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
We were lucky enough to grow up in a home where there was always much encouragement to intellectual curiosity.
The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
The machine has its limitations, but the human spirit has none.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
What is true is not always beautiful, and what is beautiful is not always true.
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.
The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but what dies inside us while we live.
The soul is not in the body, but the body in the soul.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
Contemporaries of Wright, Wilbur
Other Inventions born within 50 years of Wright, Wilbur (1867–1912).