Orville Wright Letters to Grandnephew Milton Wright

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This collection consists of two letters, a news clipping, and a small note sent by Orville Wright to his grandnephew Milton Wright in which Orville relates his opinion of modern art.

Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871, his brother Wilbur Wright having preceded him in 1867. Wilbur and Orville, along with sister Katharine and brothers Reuchlin and Lorin, were raised near Millville, Indiana and in Dayton, Ohio by their mother, Susan Wright, and father, Milton Wright, bishop of the United Brethren Church. As young men, Wilbur and Orville launched a printing business and a bicycle shop. An interest in aeronautics, spurred by the accounts of the experiments of Otto Lilienthal, prompted Wilbur to request information on the subject from the Smithsonian Institution in 1899. In August of 1900, Wilbur built his first glider and that year and the next the brothers tested gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wrights constructed a wind tunnel to gather accurate aeronautical data and, benefiting from this new information, another glider was built in 1902. In 1903, the brothers were ready to began construction of a powered craft. With the assistance of mechanic Charles Taylor, they added a 4-cylinder, 12-horsepower engine and propellers to the 1903 Flyer and it was sent to Kitty Hawk for testing. At 10:35 am, December 17, on Kill Devil Hill, Orville achieved a flight of 12 seconds---traveling a distance of 120 feet. By 1908 the Wrights were demonstrating their machines in Europe. The US Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft and in 1908 and 1909, the Wrights flew at official Army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia. (It was here that powered flight's first fatality occurred: the tragic death of Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.) The Army would go on to purchase the Military Flyer (Signal Corps No. 1) for $30,000 in 1909. In that same year, The Wright Company was established to manufacture Wright aircraft. Wilbur died in Dayton, Ohio on May 30, 1912. Orville Wright would live until January 30, 1948.

Identifier

NASM.2004.0040

Creator

Wright, Orville, 1871-1948

Date

1945-1946

Provenance

Breene Wright, Gift, 2004, NASM.2004.0040.

Extent

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of an annotated clipping from a newspaper featuring the art work "Woman on the Beach" by an unidentified artist; a handwritten note "from the desk of Orville Wright;" and two signed letters from Orville Wright to his brother Lorin's grandson, Milton Wright. The letters, dated July 31, 1945 and August 2, 1946, are addressed to Milton as "Trotz" and relate satirically Orville Wright's opinion of modern art. The 1946 letter includes a small ink drawing of an imagined painting in four panels.

Arrangement note

Collection is in chronological order.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

Orville Wright Letters to Grandnephew Milton Wright, NASM.2004.0040, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics
Air pilots

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence

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