Wilbur Wright (1867 - 1912) and Orville Wright (1871 - 1948)

The Wright brothers had always loved tinkering with mechanical things. After high school, Orville built and operated a printing press, and the brothers published a weekly paper that Wilbur edited. In 1892 they opened a bicycle shop, selling and renting the newly popular vehicle. Soon they began building bicycles themselves.

In 1896 they took an interest in flying, which at that time was limited to gliding. They read everything they could find on the subject, and with their new knowledge they built and tested their first glider near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Within three years they had built a self-propelled plane. Over the next few years they ran increasingly successful trials of their airplane prototypes. In 1908 Wilbur took the equipment to France, where he stunned the European aviation community. Soon after their trip to France, they signed a contract with the U.S. government to produce the first military airplane. Their success advanced the airplane industry but also led to imitators, patent infringements, and lawsuits.

In 1929, the first Guggenheim Medal was given to Orville for his and Wilbur's contributions to aeronautics. Both Wilbur and Orville were elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans after their deaths.

"We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever aroused curiosity." -- Orville Wright