The American Civil War: The Wright Brothers

Superior Essays
On December 17th, 1903, the Wright Brothers took flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The iconic event was the first fully documented successful powered flight by a heavier-than-air aircraft. The brothers catapulted to the front of aviation innovation; the names Orville and Wilbur Wright became known world-wide, and the brothers were celebrated as heroes in the United States. All of this praise couldn’t last forever, though, and soon Orville and Wilbur encountered issues with the patenting and proof of legitimacy of their flying method. These issues escalated into a full blown patent war between the brothers and other inventors in the field. The brothers from Indiana went on to delay American aeroplane progress for years. After their historic …show more content…
The brothers were originally seen as heroes for their iconic flight at Kitty Hawk. However, their patent and the constant legal battles turned the tide of the media against them. Especially in Europe, the extensive actions taken by the brothers were scorned by fellow aviators, reporters, and the common folk alike. A lawyer of Curtiss had once said, “If someone jumped in the air and waved his arms, the Wrights would sue”. Many called their actions greedy and selfish, although some did support them with the justification of them just trying to protect their hard-fought patent. Regardless, the actions they took didn’t just drive the public away. Fellow aviator, Octave Chanute, had been a close friend of the brothers for years. He had even helped them with the development with their first plane, even if his participation was and still is often uncredited. This lack of recognition led to an already strained relationship, and after the controversy of the patent disputes, the friendship ended with a public denouncement by Octave. The stress of it all took a toll on the both of them, Orville’s mental health and Wilbur’s physical declined throughout the years. On May 30, 1912 Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever. The death of his brother, loss of his friend, and frustration with the patent war weakened the resolve of Orville. Despite many victories and pressure from his lawyers, he didn’t wish to pursue total monopoly of the field after the 1914 upholding of the Curtiss case. He had never had an eye for business, and after Orville passed his assuming of the company only brought him more misery. In 1915, he sold the company to a group of New York investors and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Steve Jobs and the Wright brothers are both well known inventors and innovators. Even though we may use their products almost every day, we don’t always recognize what it would be like if these people didn’t create what they did. Steve Jobs is the creator of one of the most popular electronic companies, Apple. Which started out very small and then flourished into a very well known company, creating many new products each year. The Wright Brothers created something that is also very well known and important in today’s world, the first aircraft.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life Changing Experiences

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Feng Ru was a self-taught engineer that immigrated from China to America at a young age. While in America, Feng tried to learn,” all he could about machines, working in shipyards, power plants, machine shops, anywhere he could acquire mechanical knowledge,”(Maksel) Soon, Ru had started to grow an interest in a new field of mechanics- aviation. Later, in the early 1900’s, Feng opened his very own airplane,” factory, building airplanes of his own design.” (Maksel) What Ru didn’t know at first, though, was that testing aircraft is very dangerous.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the historical backdrop of the United States, African Americans have constantly been discriminated. When Africans first came to America, they had no choice but to work as laborers. They became slaves to the rich, covetous, lethargic Americans. African-Americans were working as slaves but they could not support their families because they were not paid. Additionally, they were regularly whipped and beaten.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream is a common goal that most immigrants strive for when coming to America. The American Dream consists of the ability to start a new life and to be whatever you desire along with the right to freedom. Everyone should be entitled to this dream, right? There were two main groups in America that had to fight for this ability, slaves and women. Black men and women were not given this right.…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Extended Writing Project - Jacob Covarrubias-Orta Melba Pattillo Beals, Jackie Robinson, and Feng Ru all helped change their countries while going through life changing events and challenges. Jackie Robinson explains how he went through these challenges and life changing event by writing his autobiography I Never Had It Made. Melba Pattillo Beals explains her challenges and life changing event by writing her autobiography Warriors Don’t Cry. Lastly, Rebecca Maksel describes Feng’s challenges by writing a nonfiction book called “The Father Of Chinese Aviation”.…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    At early ages the Wright brothers were very intrigued in how things worked and why. They were always looking at trinkets and thinking of improvements or changes they could make to it. With this mindset, the Wright brothers decided to open up a bicycle shop. It…

    • 1690 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By being a "good" inventor you have to design, plan, test, and make your invention perfect. Some scientists ultimately fail, but Orville and Wilbur Wright definitely didn't- they invented the first motor aircraft that we still use almost 100 years later! They were obviously good scientists! When the Wright brothers were building and testing their new airplane, they had people helping them throughout the process. At a time when the Wright brother's propeller shafts, the part of the airplane responsible for making the propellers spin, got damaged by the vibration of the motor, they sent the parts to their trusted machine.…

    • 311 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay Question #2: The Freedom War I hate this the Civil War is called what it is. Civil is defined as being courteous and kind, but none of this existed from 1861-1865 as war raged in America. Over six hundred thousand people were killed in a war that was rooted in insurrection and rebellion. This war was violent gruesome, and filled with hatred for the other side.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Decline Of General Aviation

    • 2286 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Decline of General Aviation Airports The Rise of General Aviation In the early days of aviation, aviators were limited to flying during daylight hours, in near ideal weather conditions. Early pilots were not regulated as they are today, and would take off and land their aircraft in any flat open area, often a farmer’s grassy field, which allowed them to choose their direction relative to the prevailing winds. As aviation grew, pilots began to congregate in common areas, which allowed for ease of fueling, maintenance, and the telling of the occasional lies, giving birth to the airport.…

    • 2286 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout Wiley Post’s lifetime, he accomplished many things. Even with his academic struggle, he still managed to follow his dreams and enroll in a school for aircraft. As for the hardships he faced, such as losing his eye sight, he still didn’t give up. In fact, just a couple years later he beat multiple records as well as his own. Throughout the American Southwest, airports and aeronautical schools have been named in his honor.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The election of this topic for this paper was partly thanks to the movie Pearl Harbor, and my long term desire to become a pilot. Resurgence of American patriotism was due mostly to these 16 aircraft and their crewmen. This raid paved the way for collaborations between air and naval forces that would be pivotal to the success of America’s military. It is exactly the underdog story with a happy ending that personifies the American Dream.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since they were imprisoned in a small space, they lost their wings or independence. After the exposition, the author shows the…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    October Sky Book Analysis

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As a mine superintendent, Homer’s father (John Hickam) had no greater desire than to witness his son shadow his footsteps, but Homer's future plans were contrasting. Consequently, it…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    World War 2 revolutionized aviation immensely, all countries dedicated a large amount of their funds and time to produce the best planes they could possibly produce for the war. It was established that very early in the war that airplanes would play a critical role. Airframes, avionics, the use of turboprop and jet engines were all introduced during the war. This war caused a huge push towards modern aviation today, and started a golden age for airplanes, which occurred in the 1950’s.…

    • 1945 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    British Airways Flight 5390 Accident The aviation accident that will be discussed in this paper is the British Airways Flight 5390. The accident happened on June 10, 1990 during the plane’s flight from Birmingham airport to Malaga, Spain. The plane took off at 7:20 am local time at the Birmingham airport with 81 passengers, four cabin crews and two flight crews.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics