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
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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
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