Primary Sources

Wilbur and Orville Report Cards

Discover what types of scholars the brothers were in school.

Wilbur Wright's letter to the Smithsonian Institution

Wilbur wrote this letter to the Smithsonian institution in 1899 to inquire about aeronautics research. It is the first documented proof that he had become interested in the possibility of human flight.

Orville Wright's December 17, 1903 Diary Entry

What did Orville feel like after he made the first flight? Read his diary entry of December 17, 1903 to find out.

Bishop Milton Wright's 1903 Diary Selections

Selection from the diary of the Wright brothers’ father, Bishop Milton Wright.

Wright Brothers' Patent for the 1903 Flyer

This patent was granted to the Wrights in 1906 and protected them from other inventors who might have tried to steal their ideas.

"The Wright Brother's Aëroplane" by Orville and Wilbur Wright

Orville and Wilbur wrote this article, which appeared in the September 1908 issue of Century Magazine, to give people a first-person account of how they invented flight.

U.S. Signal Corps Agreement and Specifications for a Heavier-Than-Air Flying Machine

The Army Signal Corps was a predecessor to the United State Air Force. They made this agreement for the purchase of an airplane from the Wrights in 1908. Also included are the airplane specifications that the Wrights had to meet.

"Girls Flew Too"

A reminiscence by Ivonette Wright Miller, niece of the Wright brothers. Ivonette Wright Miller was one of the first girls to fly in the United States. In this source she remembers what it was like to fly with her Uncle Orville in 1911.