Orville and Wilbur Wright

Perhaps no two people in history exemplify the spirit of invention better than brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The turn of the 20th century came during an age of invention and technological development. Inspired by a fierce worldwide competition to become the first to invent a machine that could fly and be controlled by a passenger, the brothers invented several prototypes. At last, on December 17, 1903, the pioneering flight was achieved. The brothers went on to found the Wright Company, which built airplanes for the rising new industry of commercial aviation.