Orville Wright

1871 - 1948  (76 years)  Submit Photo / Document    Has 30 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Orville Wright
  Birth	19 Aug 1871	Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States
  Gender	Male
  Death	30 Jan 1948	Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States
  Burial	5 Feb 1948	Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States
  Initiatory (LDS)	17 Apr 2008	IFALL
  FamilySearch ID	L6M7-QGS
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I95874	mytree
  Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

  
  

  Father	Bishop Milton Wright,   b. 17 Nov 1828, Rushville, Rush, Indiana, United States d. 3 Apr 1917, Oakwood, Montgomery, Ohio, United States (Age 88 years)
  Mother	Susan Catherine Koerner,   b. 30 Apr 1831, Hillsboro, Loudoun, Virginia, United States d. 4 Jul 1889, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States (Age 58 years)
  Marriage	24 Nov 1859	Union, Indiana, United States
  Family ID	F30828	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 19 Aug 1871 - Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States Death - 30 Jan 1948 - Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States Burial - 5 Feb 1948 - Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States Initiatory (LDS) - 17 Apr 2008 - IFALL  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Wright, Orville b1871 - Portrait

  
  

• Notes

  Inventor. The younger of the two brothers who would invent the airplan e a nd start the aerial age, he outlived his brother Wilbur by 36 years . Wilb ur and Orville started a printing business in their hometown of Da yton, O hio which soon expanded to a bicycle shop. Their interest in flyi ng was p iqued by their father, Milton, a well educated bishop in the Chu rch of Th e United Brethren in Christ. The brothers inherited their mothe r Susan' s mechanical ability (she made small appliances and toys). Thei r goal wa s to invent a device that would not only fly but take off and l and. Start ing with a kite, then gliders, they finally added a propelle r and an engi ne and the "Wright Flyer" was created. After the successfu l four flight s at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they returned to Dayton an d continued th eir experiments at Huffman Prairie. They were awarded a pa tent in 1906 an d started trying to attract potential customers with demo nstration flight s in Europe and elsewhere. With orders in hand includin g a contract to bu ild planes for the United States Army, Wilbur and Orvi lle started the Wri ght Company and began filling orders, but upon the ea rly death of Wilbur , Orville, discouraged, sold the business in 1912 an d retired. The two ha d been very close, lived at home and never married . Today the "Wright Fly er" is on display at the Smithsonian National Ai r and Space Museum in Was hington D.C., along with the stopwatch used t o time the first flights. (b io by: Donald Greyfield)