Wright Brothers, Wrong Story
Page 35
Pan-American Aeronautical Exhibition (New York, 1917), 113, 231
Papers of the Wright Brothers, 108
Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Including the Chanute-Wright Papers, 1899–1948, The, 12, 73, 116, 140, 177
patent(s)
Augustus Herring and, 206
denied to Wilbur Wright, 151–53, 157
granted to Samuel Langley, 152
granted to the Wright brothers (1906), 197, 218
Herring-Curtiss Corporation, 203–205, 206–207
infringement by Glenn Curtiss, 208, 211–12
for invention of controlled flight, 18
pioneer patent for the Wright brothers, 218–19, 223–24, 230
renewed trials for Langley flyer and, 224–25, 229, 230
secrecy by the Wrights and, 191, 192, 193
suits, as time-consuming, 215–16
Tom Selfridge/US Army flight and, 197–98, 200
wing-warping idea and, 212
patent deposition, 148, 149–50
Peninsula, Ohio, 24
Perry, Israel, 80–81, 83–84, 100, 103, 215
Pettigrew, J. Bell, 57
Philadelphia Inquirer, 165
Philadelphia Record, 189
photographs
alteration of Langley 1903 flyer and, 227–29
December 17, 1903, 176–79, 180–81, 257
Great Flood of 1914 and, 220, 221
of Huffman Prairie flights, 192, 193
Langley's crashed plane, 168
Pilcher, Mr., 135
pilot error, 161, 174
pioneer patent, 218–19, 230
pirates, 85
Plain Dealer (Cleveland), 23
Potomac River, 43, 44, 223
powered flight, invention of
Glenn Curtiss stealing, 194–95
Katherine Wright and, 98
Orville Wright and, 248
Samuel Langley's role in, 42–47
secrecy in order to protect, 190–91
Tom Kelly version of, 11–12
Wilbur's livelihood and, 190
Wilbur Wright-Octave Chanute correspondence on, 212–14
Wilbur Wright's role in, 15–16, 17, 18–19, 255–57
Wright version of, 12–13
See also Smithsonian feud
printing press/business, 39, 40–41, 56, 69
“Problem of Flying and Practical Experiments in Soaring, The” (Lilienthal), 59
Progress in Flying Machines (Chanute), 49, 61
propellers/propeller shafts, 115, 157–58, 167–68, 169, 170–71, 176, 196, 199, 200
Quantico, Virginia, 42–43
races, 203–205
Rathbun, Richard, 58–59, 223
“Real and Near” column (Fred Kelly), 24
Reeder, Catherine, 35
Republican, 53
Rheims, France race (1910), 204–205
Rheims Racer (airplane), 204
Robinson, Joseph Taylor, 164
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 249
Roosevelt, Quentin, 204
Roosevelt, Theodore (Teddy), 18, 107, 113, 133, 156, 165, 204, 216, 253
Root, Amos, 188–89
Roseberry, Cecil, 65, 115, 187, 194–95
rubber-band-powered aerodrome models, 44
Samuel P. Langley Medal for Aerodromics, 223, 236–37
San Diego, California, 72
Science Museum, London, England, 31, 231, 232–33, 235
Scientific American, 133, 188–89
Scientific Magazine, 133
secrecy by the Wright brothers, 66, 71, 110, 119, 190–91, 192, 193
Selfridge, Captain Thomas, 196–200
sexual relations, 11–12, 13, 29–30, 98–99, 262–63
shoe shines, 28, 29
Sines, Ed, 40, 69, 262
Singer, Isaac Merrit, 60
Smeaton's coefficient, 126, 138, 139
Smithsonian Annual Report, 133, 229
Smithsonian feud, 18
alteration of Langley aerodrome and, 223–31
Ames/Taylor report and, 237, 238
Charles Lindbergh and, 25, 239–40, 242–43, 247
Kelly biography and, 25–26, 27, 246–48
letter amending Orville's will, 245, 247, 251, 262
opposition to Smithsonian, 236, 237–38
Orville Wright's demands, 241, 242
public opinion and, 236, 243
supporters of the Smithsonian and, 237
Wright Flyer shipped to London and, 232–34, 235–36
Wrights’ indebtedness to Langley and, 236–37
Zahm report, 229, 240, 241, 247
Smithsonian Institution
Charles Greeley Abbott as Secretary of, 235
Kelly's biography and, 27
Langley aerodrome displayed at, 164, 230–31
Orville Wright and, 26
Samuel Langley and, 223
Samuel Langley as secretary of, 43
War Department money given to, 50, 64–65
Wilbur Wright contacting, 12, 19, 58–59, 60–61, 105
Wright Flyer refused at, 230, 235, 236, 237
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 247
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 126
“Soaring Flight” (Huffaker), 59
Society of Engineers, 12
“Some Aeronautical Experiments” (speech), 132–37
Spirit of St. Louis (monoplane), 261
Spratt, George Alexander, 118–19, 123–24, 144, 148, 167, 168, 171
Statesman, 23–24
steam-powered aerodrome models, 44, 45–46, 47, 59, 113. See also aerodromes (Langley flyer)
Steele High School, 30, 96, 97
Steeper, Howard, 31
Steeper, Miller, 31
Steinbeck, John, 86
St. James City, Florida, 72
storms, 81–82, 120, 166–67, 168, 201, 234
tail spin, 149
Tate, Addie, 87, 106
Tate, Dan, 166, 167
Tate, Tommy, 91–92
Tate, William, 83, 85, 86, 100, 103, 121
Taylor, Charlie (mechanic), 13–14, 117–18, 119, 154–55, 157, 168, 169, 170, 193, 262
Taylor, David, 235, 238
Ten Dayton Boys, 33
test flights
aerodromes of Samuel Langley, 160–64, 171–72
Chanute's glider, 50
crash of 1908, 196–200
by Otto Lilienthal, 55
restored Langley flyer, 223–25, 226–27, 228, 229–30
US Army, 196–200
See also glider experiments; Wright, Wilbur, flights of
Tise, Larry, 106
Titanic (ship), 60
Tobin, James, 16
toy helicopter, 11
Tunisson, Frank, 189
typhoid fever, 10, 18, 26, 30, 50, 51–52, 88, 122, 217
United Brethren Church, 30, 35, 94
United State Naval Academy, 43
United States Patent Office, 151–53
United State Weather Service, 19, 73
US Army, 19, 65, 196, 199, 219, 244
US Army Ordinance Department, 65
US Circuit Court of Appeals, 218, 223
“Value of Curved Surfaces in Flight, The” (Huffaker), 45
Vanderbilt, William K., 186
Verrazano, Giovanni de, 85
Virginia Pilot, 189, 190
Wagner, Mrs., 221
Walcott, Charles Doolittle, 27, 160–61, 163, 219, 223, 224, 225, 226, 230, 231, 235, 236
Ward, Captain Jesse, 168
War Department, 50, 64–65, 160, 161, 163
Washington Post, 189
Watson, Thomas A., 186
Weather Bureau, 73, 83
well digging, 144, 146, 148–49
Werthner, William, 40
Westcott, Robert, 172, 176
Western Society of Engineers, 116, 128, 131–37, 154–59, 210, 236
West Side News, 39
Weyman, He
nry, 228, 229
White, Harry, 114
Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers (Howard), 69, 105, 148
Wilson, Woodrow, 95
wind shear, 158
wind tunnel, 12, 15, 138, 139–40
wing-warping concept
cardboard-box moment, 68
corresponding with Chanute on, 71–72, 112
Glenn Curtiss and, 194, 197, 208
Kelly biography and, 12, 149
Orville Wright and, 147
patent and, 152
setup for control, 144
testing, 104, 127, 128
Western Society of Engineers speech and, 136, 155, 156–57
Wilbur as perfecting vs. inventing, 212
Wilbur's work with, 69–70
Wohlganger, John, 28, 29–30
Woodland Cemetery, 58
Wood, Robert, 47, 48
World's Fair (1893), 49, 51, 131
World's Fair (1900), 96
World's Fair (1904), 96
World War II, 243, 244
Wright Aeronautical Company, 30
Wright and Wright (printing firm), 40
Wright brothers
Baldwin's dirigible and, 185
bicycle business, 41, 53, 67
at Columbian Exposition World's Fair (1893), 49
at Dayton County Fair, 185–86, 193–94
differences and similarities between, 9, 12, 16–17, 134–35, 259
different roles in Kitty Hawk (1900), 105–106
disbelief about flights of, 192–93
father treating as equals, 9–10
Glenn Curtiss and, 187–88, 194–95, 197
indebtedness to Langley's work, 236–37
in Kelly biography, 248, 254–59
at Kill Devil Hills (1900), 100–106
at Kitty Hawk (1902), 143, 144, 147–49
media coverage on 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk and, 188–90
Orville version, in biographical information on, 10–11, 12
patent wars, 204–205, 206–207
photograph of December 17, 1903 flight and, 180–81
pioneer patent ad, 218–19, 223–24
portrayed as perfect men, 15
printing business, 40–41
renewed test flights of 1903 Langley flyer and, 230
secrecy by, 190–91, 193
sexual relations, 11–12, 13
trip to Kill Devil Hills (1903), 165–82
trip to Kitty Hawk (1901), 120–30
wing-warping idea (see wing-warping concept)
See also Wright, Orville; Wright, Wilbur
Wright Brothers, The (McCullough), 10, 210
Wright Brothers: A Biography Authorized by Orville Wright, The (Kelly), 10–11, 12, 146–47, 148, 149, 246–48, 254–55
Wright Cycle Exchange, 41, 53
Wright, Dan, 35
Wright Flyer
damaged after December 1903 flights, 182
delivered to Kill Devil Hills (1903), 167
displayed at MIT as world's first airplane, 230–31
displayed at the Smithsonian, 229, 230, 231
efforts to fly a replica of, 263
Elizabeth City, NC, depot fire and, 165
flown at Kill Devil Hills (1903), 172–74, 175–77, 180
Great Flood of 1914 and, 21, 30, 221–22
Mabel Beck and the letter regarding, 31
mechanic for, 13
media response to achievement at Kitty Hawk, 188–90
moved to Corsham, England, 183, 244
Orville as mechanic and Wilbur as designer of, 17, 106, 107
photograph of, December 17, 1903, 176–79, 180–81
propellers for, 157–58
refused at Smithsonian Institution, 230, 235, 236, 237
return to the United States, 249, 261–62
shipped to Science Museum, London, 77–78, 231, 232–34, 235–36
Smithsonian plaque for, 261
US army test flight, 196–200
World War II bombing and, 244–45
See also Smithsonian feud
Wright, Ivonette (sister-in-law). See Miller, Ivonette Wright
Wright, Katherine (sister of Wilbur and Orville), 11
caring for her father and brothers, 11, 14–15, 94–95, 97
cast out by Orville, 12, 14, 37
Chanute's visit to Dayton and, 117
Charlie Taylor (mechanic) and, 117
courtships/engagement, 94, 96
Earl Findley and, 24
friendship with Margaret Goodwin, 95, 96
Great Flood of 1914 and, 220, 221
Kitty Hawk trip (1900) and, 97–98
letters from Kitty Hawk to (1900), 91, 92, 93, 100–101
marriage, 12, 14, 262
at Oberlin College, 95–96
relationships/sexual interest, 13
role in development of flight, 99
telegram to Chanute (1903), 179
Western Society of Civil Engineers speech and, 132, 133
at World's Fair, 96
Wright, Lorin (brother of Wilbur and Orville), 14, 29, 35, 36, 144, 147, 148, 189, 227–29
Wright Memorial, 17
Wright, Milton (father of Wilbur and Orville), 9
bicycles and, 53
as bishop, 35
comparing abilities of Wilbur and Orville, 90
conflict with his church, 141
death, 262
diary entries before Wilbur's death, 216–17
Great Flood of 1914 and, 220, 221
influence on Wilbur, 104
Katherine and, 14–15, 94–95, 96
keeping his family within his orbit, 35, 36–37
letters about Kitty Hawk trip (1900) to, 97–98
Octave Chanute's visit to Wilbur and, 116
on Oliver Haugh incident (1913), 34
on Orville dropping out of school, 40
Orville's typhoid fever and, 52
parents of, 35
on printing operation, 40
toy helicopter brought home by, 11
travel by, 38
wanting to keep his children home, 35–36, 117
Wilbur's correspondence to, 60–61, 75, 89–90
on the world as evil and untrustworthy, 10, 35, 36, 104, 256
Wright, Orville
accident on glider (1902), 143, 148, 155–56
alteration of Langley 1903 flyer and, 227–28
appearance of, 16
Chanute on, 143
Charles Lindbergh meeting with, 239–40, 251–52
courtship with Agnes Osborn, 14
death, 18, 30, 261
education of, 39, 40
on Edward Huffaker, 122
flight on December 17, 1903, 12, 15–16, 176, 180, 181
flying crashes, 255–56
flying Wright Flyer with an army officer, 196–200
glider flights (1902), 147–48
Great Flood of 1914 and, 220
having Wright Flyer shipped to London, 231, 232–34
heart attacks/strokes, 30
hinged rudder and, 146–47
interest in flight, 57
Katherine Orville and, 12, 14, 37, 98, 262
Kelly biography and, 10–11, 12, 23, 24, 146–47, 148, 149, 246–48, 257–58
Kelly's interviews and articles on, 23
at Kill Devil Hills (October, 1900), 103, 104
in Kitty Hawk (1900), 90–91, 100–101
in Kitty Hawk (1901), 122
laboratory of, 28
lack of interest in flying, 60–61
letter amending will of, 247, 262
letter between Chanute and, 109
Mabel Beck and, 28–30, 262–63
movable rudder and, 146–47
not flying the glider at Kitty Hawk (1900), 105
omitted from mention in Wilbur-Chanute's correspondence, 72, 74–75
pioneer patent and, 218–19
returning to Dayton for propeller shafts
(1903), 171–72
role in Kitty Hawk visit (1900), 106
in school, 40
sexual relations, 29–30, 98, 262–63
shoe shines and, 28, 29
Smithsonian feud and, 26–27, 230–34, 235, 237, 240–41, 242
Smithsonian letter (1899) and, 59, 60
speech about return of the Wright Flyer (1943), 249–50
typhoid fever and, 51, 52, 54
Western Society of Engineers talks and, 137, 159
on Wilbur's death, 217
Wilbur's plans/trip to Kitty Hawk (1900) and, 60–61, 74–75, 86
wind tunnel and, 12, 139–40
See also Wright brothers
Wright, Reuchlin (brother of Wilbur and Orville), 14, 35
Wright Sister, The (Maurer), 96
Wright, Sue (niece), 28–29
Wright, Susan (Koerner) (mother of Wilbur and Orville), 28–29, 34, 36, 37–38, 39
Wright Van Cleve bicycles, 66, 67
Wright Way, The (Eppler), 197
Wright, Wilbur
academic and athletic abilities of, 33
appearance, 17, 33
articles published by, 111
behavior around women, 13–14
belief that others were stealing from him, 208–209, 210–12
on bicycle/airplane connection, 53, 66–67
on business/businessmen, 53–54
career aspirations, 39, 67–68
as celebrity in France, 209–10
Chanute's view of, 168–69, 191
Chanute's visit to, 112, 116–17, 118
correspondence with Octave Chanute, 17, 50, 61, 70–73, 74–75, 108–11, 150, 179, 180, 181, 186
on crash of 1908, 199–200
death, 10, 18, 216–17
on Edward Huffaker, 122
Experiments and Observations in Soaring Flight (pamphlet), 186
father on intellectual force of, 10
father's fight with the church and, 141
fight with Octave Chanute, 212–14
financial gain and, 71, 190
flying by Glenn Curtiss vs. flying by, 205–206
funeral of, 217
information from Chanute passed on to, 130
as inventor of manned flight, 15–16, 18
kite built by, 68–70
letter sent to Smithsonian Institution, 58–59, 60–61
Mabel Beck and, 30
on marriage, 11–12
movable rudder and, 147
needing to understand the science of controlled flight, 129–30
offer to Glenn Curtiss, 218
Oliver Haugh event, influence on, 32–35, 36, 39
patent application by, 151–53
patent deposition, 148, 149–50
patent suits/wars, 202, 208, 211, 215–16, 218
on position of the flying machine operator, 106, 109, 111
as primary inventor and pilot, 255–57
reading and self-education by, 38–39
referenced in biographies of Wright Brothers, 11
returning to Kill Devil Hills (1908), 201–202, 211