Who Were the Wright Brothers? On May 25, 1910, Milton Wright took his first airplane flight. He had lived a long and busy life, working for his church, raising his family, and traveling. But he had never been in an airplane. Of course, in 1910, only a handful of people had! Two people who did have flying experience were Milton's sons, Wilbur and Orville Wright, who had invented the airplane in 1903. Milton had watched them grow from curious and hard-working boys into two of the most famous men in the world. The Wright brothers built and flew their plane only after years of trial, error, and hard work. From the early twentieth century to the present, every single airplane ever built includes something first created by the Wright brothers. Their invention changed the world. However, on this day in May of 1910, the brothers didn't care about the world. They were just happy to share their success and joy with their father, who had given them so much support. On a field not far from their family home in Dayton, Ohio, Orville Wright settled his eighty-one-year-old father into the plane. Then Orville sat at the controls. The two men held on as the aircraft slowly got up to speed and then took off! They circled the field over and over, staying in the air for nearly seven minutes. During the flight, Milton leaned toward his son. Over the roar of the engine, he shouted, "Higher, Orville . . . higher!" So that's where Orville took Milton . . . and that's where the Wright brothers took the world. Excerpted from Who Were the Wright Brothers? by James Buckley All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
