Orville Wright

Dayton’s most famous sons are undoubtedly the Wright Brothers; Orville and Wilbur. The two brothers are credited with inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight. This December marks the 108^th anniversary of that fabled first flight, which was on December 17, 1903.  The Wright Brothers continued their flight research in Dayton, improving on their original designs and creating new ones. Orville Wright lived until 1948, residing in Dayton the entire time. Orville’s life spanned the horse-and-buggy age to the dawn of supersonic flight.  To commemorate both the historic first flight, and the anniversary of Orville Wright’s death, we have posted a selection of photos from the Dayton Daily News collection. Please click on the thumbnails to make them larger.