Wilbur Wright (picture on the right), Orville’s older brother, was born on April 16, 1867 in Indiana. Four years later, Orville Wright (picture on the left) was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio. Wilbur and Orville were close brothers, but had very different personalities. Although they shared many common interests, Wilbur was studious, academically driven, and planned to attend college while Orville was rascally and more interested in hobbies than academia. Unfortunately, Wilbur plans changed when he suffered a traumatic head injury while playing ice hockey and suffered bouts of depression from that day forward (Bio, 2014b).
Wilbur and Orville shared curiosity of flight which was ignited by a flying, rubber band operated, toy helicopter their father brought home when they were kids (Bio, 2014b). It was not until 1896 that the Wright brothers’ interests in flight again surfaced. They followed the work and flight experiments of Otto Lilienthal, whose unfortunate death during a flight drove Wilbur and Orville to pursue the impossible (Wescott & Degen, 1983).
For more information on the early life of Wilbur and Orville Wright, click here.
For more information on the early life of Wilbur and Orville Wright, click here.