After collecting reference material from the Smithsonian and other sources, the Wright brothers began studying their predecessors. They were surprised to learn that, despite humanity’s centuries-old interest in flight, little progress had been made in aeronautics before 1800. Until that time, few trained scientists or mechanics thought it a sensible undertaking.
 
During the 1800s, however, a community of technically trained people interested in flight had evolved. They had amassed a body of aeronautical knowledge that represented the first real steps toward achieving human flight.