Topics in Chronicling America - The Wright Brothers

Jump to: Sample Articles

Important Dates:

• December 17, 1903. Wright brothers achieve the first piloted, sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
• January 5, 1904. Wright brothers make an announcement to the Associated Press about the success of their flights.
• 1904-1905. Wilbur and Orville continue their experiments and make improvements to their airplane.
• May 22, 1906. U.S. Patent Office issues patent 821,393 to the Wright Brothers for their flying machine.

Suggested Search Strategies:

• [Try the following terms in combination, proximity, or as phrases using Search Pages in Chronicling America.] Since the term “airplane” was not yet in common use, try using other terms from the time. Try searching with any of the words flight, flying, airship, aeroplane or aeronaut.
• Try using a specific date range to find articles about a particular event.
• Since Wilbur and Orville were not always mentioned by first name, you can search with any of the words Wilbur or Orville and then search with Wright and brothers within 10 words of each other.

Sample Articles from Chronicling America:

• "Airship Flight is a Success," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), December 18, 1903, Page 1, Image 1, col. 7.
• "A Machine That Flies," The Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA), December 19, 1903, Page 5, Image 5, col.1.
• "High Gale No Bar to Flying Machine," The Washington Times (Washington, DC), December 19, 1903, Page 10, Image 10, col. 1.
• "Airship was a Great Success: The Wright Brothers Give Out a Statement Regarding Their Recent Experiments," The Minneapolis Journal (Minneapolis, MN), January 6, 1904, Page 1, Image 1, col. 1.
• "Ohio Inventors Claim Success in Flight," The Washington Times (Washington, DC), January 7, 1904, Page 3, Image 3, col. 4.
• "A Machine That Flies: The Wright Brothers Declare that They Have Solved the Problem of Navigating the Air," The Watchman and Southron (Sumter, SC), January 13, 1904, Page 7, Image 7, col. 3.
• "Flying Machine that Flies," The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), October 9, 1904, Page 13, Image 13, col. 5-7.
• "Aeronautic Experiments," The New-York Tribune (New York, NY), June 21, 1905, Page 6, Image 6, col. 3-4.
• "Ohio Patents," The News-Herald (Hillsboro, OH), May 31, 1906, Page 3, Image 3, col. 6.