Year: 1909

January. In Country Life Orville Predicts commercial future for the airplane.

January 2. Wilbur sends Wright airplane to French resort town of Pau in the south of France at the edge of the Pyrenees.

Pau had been selected in December on the recommendation of his student flyer Paul Tissandier as a new flying site because of a warmer climate.

January 5. Orville and sister Katherine sail for France on Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse to join Wilbur in Paris, arriving in Plymouth January 11 and in Paris January 12, where they are met by Wilbur, Mr. and Mrs. Hart O. Berg, a number of journalists, and members of Aero-Club de France.

Wilbur is honored at luncheon at Hotel du Dauphine in Le Mans, which is attended by Leon Bollee, president of the Aero-Club de la Sarthe, and fellow members of the Aero-Club.

Wrights granted patent No. 908,929, originally applied for July 15, 1908, for a mechanism for flexing plane rudder.

January 7. Orville issued Aero-Club de France pilot’s license No. 14, Wilbur No. 15.

January 12. At a luncheon at the Automobile-Club de France in Paris, Andre Michelin presents Wilbur with Michelin award of 20,000 francs for record-breaking flight on December 31.

January 14. Wilbur arrives at Pau, and Orville and Katharine come from Paris to Join him on January 1.

January 16. Orville and Katharine, en route to Paul to join Wilbur, escape injury when their train collides with another coming from Pau and is badly wrecked.

January 18. Les Premier Hommes-Oiseaux: Wilber et Orville Wright, first book to deal with the work of the Wrights, by Francois Peyrey, writer for L’Auto, is published.

January 21. Wilbur and assistants commence unpacking and assembling Wright airplane which, together with the starting rail and derrick, had been shipped from Le Mans on January 2.

City of Pau officially welcomes Wrights and holds dinner and reception in their honor at the Palais d’Hiver. Prominent municipal and military personnel and officials of aeronautical societies attend.

January 24. In letter to Dayton Daily News Wilbur states report published on January 8 that he had been named correspondent in divorce suit brought by a Lieutenant Goujarde is entirely without foundation.

The news service which sent the item, after an investigation, discharged its correspondent, and wrote a letter to Wilbur making full apology.

January 25. Representative J. Eugene Harding, of Ohio, introduces H.J. Res. 246, authorizing Secretary of War to award gold medals to Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright.

A similar bill, S.J. Res. 119, is introduced on same day by Senator Joseph B. Foraker, of Ohio.

January 27. Wilbur and Orville accept honorary membership voted by Osterreichischer Flugtechnischer Verein, Vienna.

January 29. Wrights dine with Alfred de Lassence, Mayor of Pau, attend moving picture showing at theatre de Varietes that includes views of some of Wilbur’s flights at Le Mans.

January 31. Russian Wright patent No. 23488 issued.

February. In London Magazine Wilbur discusses the London Daily Mail prize of $10,000 to be awarded to first flyer to complete journey from London to Manchester within a period of 24 hours and with only two stops en route.

February 3. Wilbur makes flight of five minutes 57 seconds, reaching an altitude of 35 meters, and another of five minutes 4 3/4 seconds, the first of a series of flights at Pau.

These flights, extending through March 20, were primarily training flights with his three French student pilots, Count Charles de Lambert, Paul Tissandier, and Captain Paul N. Lucas-Girardville.

February 7. Wilbur, Orville, and Katharine lunch with Lord Alfred Northcliffe, owner of the London Daily mail, who had recently arrived in Le Mans.

February 9. Wilbur flies at Pau for 19 minutes in the presence of Louis Bleriot, French aviator.

February 10. Board of Regents of Smithsonian Institution recommends that the newly established Langley Medal be awarded to Wilbur and Orville Wright “for advancing the science of aerodromics in its application to aviation by their successful investigations and demonstration of the practicability of mechanical flight by man.”

Lord Arthur J. Balfour, former Prime Minister of England, and Lord and Lady Frederick G. Wolverton visit Pau to view flights by Wilbur, but snow and bad weather prevent flights. Wilbur has lengthy visit with Lord Balfour and explains mechanics of plane to him.

February 11.  Verein deutscher Flugtechniker, Berlin, confers its diploma of honor on Wrights “in acknowledgement of …pioneer services in the advancement of the technics of flight.”

Lord Northcliffe and Lord Balfour witness 20-minute flight by Wilbur. Lord Balfour joins in pulling rope used to raise weights on the launching derrick.

February 15. Katharine is passenger for first time in flight with Wilbur lasing seven minutes and four seconds.

February 16. Wrights sign contract for demonstration flights in Germany with August Scherl, owner of the Lokal-Anzeiger, a leading newspaper in Berlin.

February 20. King Alfonso XIII of Spain arrives in Pau, goes to the flying field, and is introduced to the Wrights. Two early morning flights by Wilbur are made in his presence. Wilbur explains plane operation in great detail. Wilbur Orville, Hart O. Berg, and Mayor Alfred de Lassence of Pau, and small party breakfast with King Alfonso.

February 23. Ohio State Senator George K. Cetone introduces Senate Bill No. 107 “to provide for a suitable recognition by the State of Ohio for the Wright Bros., inventors of the aeroplane, of Dayton Ohio.”

The bill was enacted by the General Assembly of Ohio on March 12, and a medal presented on June 18.

February 25. Orville and Katharine take trip in balloon Icare at Pau with Ernest Zens and the Marquis Edgard de Kergariou, covering distance of 30 kilometers in two hours 10 minutes and landing at Ossun in the Pyrenees.

February 27. La Vie au Grand Air publishes interview with Wilbur on his training and instruction methods.

Assembly of second Wright airplane intended for use of Wright pupils near completion at Pau.

March. Wrights enter into contract with Short Brothers, Battersea, England, in which Short Brothers agree to construct six Wright machines using Wright plans, cost to be L1,000 each.

March 4. Congressional Medal awarded Wright brothers by resolution of Congress, H.J. Res. 246, “in recognition of the great service of Orville and Wilbur Wright, of Ohio, rendered the science of aerial navigation in the invention of the Wright aeroplane, and for their ability, courage, and success in navigating the air.”

A gold medal was subsequently designed by Charles E. Barber and George T. Morgan, of the United States Mint, and presented to the brothers on June 18.

British patent No. 24076, applied for November 10, 108, granted to Wright brothers.

March 5. Wrights receive honorary doctor of engineering degree from the university of Munich “in acknowledgement of …discoveries, advancements and elucidation of rich consequence in the problems of flight.”

March 17. Wrights meet King Edward VII, of England when he visits Pau and witnesses two flight by Wilbur, in the second of which Katherine is passenger in flight of 12 minutes 22 seconds.

March 18. Orville and Katharine leave Pau for Paris. Wilbur remains.

March 18 – 27. Wright airplane is among those exhibited at the International Aero and Motor-Boat Exhibition (Olympia Air Show) in London.

Wright airplane offered for sale of $7,000.

March 20. Wilbur flies in presence of the French Chamber of Deputies and takes three members for short flights. Wilbur also makes a flight of eight minutes with Capt. P. N. Lucas-Girardville, his last with French student pilots and completing the training part of the Wrights’ French contract.

March 23. Wright airplane, built at Pau and completed on March 19, shopped to Rome, where Wilbur is to train two Italian pilots. Wilbur departs for Paris to join Orville and Katharine.

March 24. Wright student pilots Count Charles de Lambert and Paul Tissandier qualify for Aero-Club de France licenses by making solo flights of 25 kilometers each.

March 25. Dayton City Council recommends appropriation of $200 to be used for suitable memorial to the Wright brothers.

A Dayton city medal was presented to the brothers on June 18 as “A testimonial from the citizens of their home in recognition of their success in navigating in the air.”

Wilbur, Orville, and Katharine visit Le Mans and are received by members of the Aero-club de la Sarthe and its president, Leon Bollee.

March 28. Wilbur leaves Paris for Rome, arriving on April 1, to prepare for training of the two Italian fliers.

April 1. Wilbur, accompanied by Hart O. Berg, Wright European business representative, visits Maj. Mario Moris, head of the Italian military service, with a view to selling Wright airplanes to the Italian government.

Wilbur and Berg meet with Camille Barrere, French Ambassador to Italy.

Orville and Katharine attend monthly meeting of Aero-Club de France, first time a woman had been invited to an Aero-Club de France meeting.

April 2. Wilbur, accompanied by Berg, is received in special audience by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, who was especially interested in the problems of flight.

April 9. Assembly of Wright airplane and erection of starting derrick at Centocelle Field is completed.

Katharine and Orville arrive in Rome to join Wilbur.

April 13. Pierpont Morgan and party, accompanied by Berg, visit Wrights at Centocelle Field.

April 15. Wilbur makes first flight in Italy at Centocelle Field near Rome, a flight of 10 minutes, reaching an altitude of 30 meters, witnessed by a large and enthusiastic crowd.

Between April 15 and 26 Wilbur completed more than 50 flights, many of them with passengers.

April 16. Wilbur makes five flights, beginning the training of Lts. Mario Calderara and Umberto Savoia and carrying as a passenger on one flight the former Premier of Italy Sidney Sonnino.

April 19. Berg, in military captive balloon in center of flying grounds takes snapshots of Wright plane in flight.

Wilbur explains operation of plane to large groups of teachers and students who had come to Centocelle to view flights.

April 21. Wilbur completes seven flights, in one reaching an altitude of 70 – 80 meters, in others carrying passengers Admiral Giovanni Mirabello, the Duke of Gallese, and the Honorable Emilio Maraini.

Wrights and sister Katharine attend musicale at Campidoglio in Rome on occasion of Rome’s founding day.

April 22. Wilbur makes nine flights in three of which he carried as passengers Prince Scipione Borghese, Prince Filippo Doria, and Teodor Mayer. Several flights are witnessed by Italian Dowager Queen Margherita.

April 24. Wilbur makes five flights, two of them witnessed by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Lloyd C. Griscom, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, accompanied Wilbur as passenger on his last flight. A Universal News Agency cameraman also accompanied Wilbur on one of the flights, taking the first motion pictures from an airplane in flight.

Wilbur, Lt. Mario Calderara, Italian Army officers, and journalists join in luncheon at Fort Casilano.

April 26. Students of the School of engineering, university of Rome, accompanied by the university rector, Dr. Alberto Tonelli, and by Prof. Moise Ascoli, witness and enthusiastically applaud Wilbur’s flights.

April 27. Wilbur, Orville, and Katharine honored at farewell luncheon given by members of the Rome Aero Club at Excelsior Hotel. Among those present are the Duke of Gallese, president of the club Sidney Sonnino, Prince Filippo Doria, Prince Mario Borghese, and Lt. Mario Calderara.

April 28. Katharine, Orville, and Wilbur leave Rome, arriving in Paris the next day.

May. Wright airplane used in carrying out contract with Lazare Weiller Syndicate presented to Arts et Metiers Museum in Paris.

May 1. Aero-Club de la Sarthe in le Mans give banquet, resided over by the president of the club, Leon Bollee, in honor of Wrights and presents Wilbur with a bronze art object, representing the Muse of Aviation, designed by Louis Carvin. Mayor Alfred de Lassence, on behalf of city of Le Mans, presents him with gold plaque engraved with the city coat of arms and a second medal on behalf of the citizens.

May 2. Wrights arrive in London en route to the United States.

May 3. Wilbur and Orville visit British War Office and confer with War Secretary Richard B. Haldane and Gen. Sir Charles F. Hadden, Master General of Ordnance.

Wrights are guest of Frank Hedges Butler, prominent British balloonist, at luncheon at Carlton hotel, attended by Gen. Sir Charles F. Hadden, Gen. Gerald F. Ellison, Col. Sir Edward Ward, Under Secretary of War, and prominent British aeronauts.

Wrights visit Short Brothers factory at Battersea, where they inspect six machines of their design which are under construction.

Wrights visit Aero Club of the United Kingdom headquarters in Piccadilly.

Aeronautical society of Great Britain’s old medal, awarded to Wilbur and Orville on November 9, 1908, is presented at ceremonies and banquet, presided over by Edward P. frost, president of the Aeronautical Society, at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

May 4. Wrights inspect Aero Club’s new flying ground at Sheppy Island.

Wrights honored at banquet given by Aero Club at Ritz Hotel.

May 5. Wrights depart for New York aboard Kronprinzessin Cecilie.

May 12. Wrights, having arrived in New York on May 11, honored at luncheon given by Aero Club of America at Lawyer’s Club, with A. Holland Forbes, acting president of the club, presiding. Aeronautical enthusiasts and business and professional men praise feats of the brothers in their tour abroad.

May 13. Thousands in Dayton greet Wilbur, Orville, and Katharine on their return home from European trip. They are taken from the railroad station to their home in a carriage drawn by four white horses. Albert L. Shearer, who had given Wilbur and Orville their first employment in his hardware store in 1882, delivers a welcoming address. John C. Eberhardt presents certificate of friendship entwined in a laurel wreath. Fireworks in the evening end reception.

International Aeroplane Club of Dayton founded, organized to honor Wilbur and Orville, Wilbur and Orville elected honorary members.

Flugmaschine Wright Gesellschaft m. b. H., Berlin, formed, acquiring the Wright German patents for 200,000 marks and rights for manufacture of Wright planes in Germany, as well s sales rights for Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Luxemburg, and Turkey. Orville named as member of the board of directors.

May 31. Wilbur and Orville go to Detroit to inspect Packard Automobile Company and to see Russell A. Alger, influential stockholder in the company, returning to Dayton on June 2.

June. Wrights conduct propeller test in Dayton to determine cause of accident at Fort Meyer on September 17, 1908, and to prevent recurrence of similar problems in upcoming flight tests in June and July.

June 3. Nord Cincinnati Turn-Verein gives Wilbur and Orville honorary life membership.

June 6. Rev. John a. Gray, of Congregational church of Fairmount, Ind., preaches Sunday evening sermon on “The Wright Brothers; their Message to the Men of Today.”

June 9. International Aeroplane Club of Dayton Awards honorary life memberships to Wilbur and Orville “in recognition of valuable contribution to the science of aerial navigation and conspicuous achievements in demonstrating the practicality of the aeroplanes.”

Engrossed certificates of membership are presented to the brothers at their home on June 16.

June 10. President Taft presents Wilbur and Orville with Aero Club of America gold medals, designed by the artist Victor D. Brenner, in the East room of the White House in the presence of nearly 1,000 persons, including Aero Club of America officials, scientists, diplomats, military personnel, and high-ranking government officials. In making the presentation President Taft remarked: “You made this discovery by a course that w of America like to feel is distinctly American – by keeping your nose right at the job until you had accomplished what you had determined to do.”

Aero Club of Washington honors Wrights at buffet luncheon and reception at the cosmos Club, attended by distinguished guests and Aero Club of America members.

Wrights are guests of Gen. Clarence Edwards of the Washington Aero Club at dinner at Willard Hotel.

June 16. Wright brothers receive honorary bachelor of science degree from Earlham College, Richmond, Ind. Brothers unable to attend exercises.

Wilbur attends meeting of Ten Dayton boys Club in his capacity as president.

June 17. On first day of two-day celebration staged by Dayton to honor them, the brothers review exhibition parade and drill by the Dayton Fire Department, attend public reception at the Y.M.C.A., are given the key to the city, and witness a fireworks display in which their portraits, 80 feet high and entwined with an American flag are shown.

June 18. On the second day of the celebration, Bishop Wright delivers invocation at ceremony in which gold medals are presented to Wilbur and Orville. Gen. James Allen, Chief Signal Officer of the Army, as the representative of the President, presents the Congressional Medal, Gov. Judson Harmon of Ohio presents the Ohio Medal, and Mayor Edward E. Burkhart presents the City of Dayton Medal.

Following presentation of medals, the brothers view a parade of floats, including a Wright airplane, depicting development of locomotion in America.

Wright airplane arrives in Washington from Dayton for use in government trials.

June 19. Wrights leave for Washington, D.C., and arrive there June 20 to resume the trials that had been interrupted by the Fort Myer accident September 17, 1908.

June 24. Assembly of Wright machine at Fort Myer completed.

June 25 – 26. Engine tests conducted by Wrights at Fort Myer.

June 26. Senate adjourns to witness flights by Orville, joined by other members of Congress, Army officers, scientists, diplomats, and members of the press. Flights postponed because brothers did not feel they could safely undertake a first flight in a new machine in a 16-mile wind.

Sale of Curtiss airplane by Glenn H. Curtiss, first commercial sale of an airplane in the United States, to the Aeronautic Society of New York for $7,500, sets in motion the beginning of patent suit by Wright brothers to prevent Curtiss from selling airplanes without a license.

June 27. Bishop Wright and son Reuchlin leave Dayton for Washington to view flights by Orville.

They returned July 2, having witnessed flights on June 29, June 30, and July 1.

June 29. Orville makes first of series of preliminary flights at Fort Myer, Va., in preparation for Army trials.

July 2. Orville escapes injury at For Myer when ribs of his main plane are broken in passing over a dead tree and the machine falls, breaking the skids.

July 4. Orville goes back to Dayton to make repairs, returning to Washington on July 7.

July 9. Ms. Nicholas Longworth, daughter of former President Roosevelt, comes to Fort Myer to observe Wright flights is invited by Wrights to view their airplane, and the mechanics of the flying machine are explained to her.

Mrs. Longworth later was a frequent visitor at Fort Myer and served tea from her electric runabout on the Fort Myer parade grounds to prominent spectators.

Secretary of the navy George L. Meyer and Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson inspect the Wright airplane.

July 10 – October 17. One of the two Wright machines assembled and used in flights by Wilbur at Pau and Rome exhibited at first Internationale Luftschiffahrts-Ausstellung held at Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

July 20. Orville flies one hour 20 minutes 45 seconds in unofficial test at Fort Myer.

Katharine Wright goes to Washington to witness flights by Orville.

Wilbur and Orville named to French Legion of Honor.

July 27. Orville flies with Lt. Frank P. Lahm as passenger, for one hour, 12 minutes, 37 4/5 seconds. This fulfills Army requirement of remaining in air for an hour carrying two persons and establishes record for two-man flight. Flight is witnessed by President Taft, the cabinet, high public officials, and an estimated crowd of 10,000 enthusiastic spectators. Orville is congratulated by President Taft, Maj. Frederick S. Foltz, commandant of the post, Gen. Clarence Edwards, and numerous others at the field.

July 30. Orville, flying with Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois as passenger, undertakes a speed test between Fort Myer, Va., and Shuter’s Hill, near Alexandria, over a measured course of five miles across broken country, maintaining speed of 37.735 miles going and 47.431 returning, or an average speed of 42.583 miles per hour, in first cross-country flight, a total distance of about 10 miles.

Gen. James Allen, accompanied by members of the board of award, congratulates Orville on his successful flight.

Maj. Charles g. Treat conveys to Orville the compliments of President Taft, who had witnessed the flight takeoff but was unable to witness the completed flight because of a business meeting.

July 31. Orville and Katharine leave Washington, arriving in Dayton on August 1. Wilbur remains in Washington to discuss and plan for the training of two additional Signal Corps officers, returning to Dayton on August 2.

August 2. Board of Officers, convened to observe Wright brothers’ airplane trials at Fort Meyer, Va., meets in office of Gen. James Allen, Chief Signal Officer of Army, and submits report on results of trials. Allen approves recommendation that Army purchase the Wright brothers’ airplane.

This completed formal acceptance of the machine by the United Sates government, the first flying machine purchased and put into service by any government.

August 8. Orville and Katharine Wright leave Dayton for Europe, sailing from New York on August 10 aboard the Kronprinzessin Cecilie and arriving in London August 16 and in Berlin August 19.

Orville was to give demonstration flights and to seek to complete negotiations begun by Wilbur in 1908 for the sale of Wright patents to a German syndicate.

August 14. Wilbur travels to Washington to inspect buildings under construction at College Park to be used by Army pilots undergoing training there.

August 16 – 17. Wilbur goes to New York to initiate patent suits against Herring-Curtiss Company and Glenn H. Curtiss from manufacturing, selling, or using for exhibition purposes the Curtiss airplane.

August 19. Die Bruder Wright, By Capt. Alfred Hildebrandt, published in Berlin.

Wrights file suit against the Aeronautic Society of New York to prevent further exhibition and use of the Curtiss flying machine owned by the society, on the ground that ht machine is an infringement of the Wright patents.

August 21. Orville and Katherine are dinner guests of U.S. Ambassador David J. Hill at his home in Berlin.

August 23. James M. Beck, chairman of Aeronautics Committee of the Hudson-Fulton commission, announces receipt of contract signed by Wilbur providing for series of flight by him during the Hudson-Fulton celebration in September and October for a fee of $15,000.

August 25. Wright machine, one of two being assembled by German Wright Company, transferred from military aeronautic headquarters at Tegel to Tempelhof Field.

August 29. Orville meets Kaiser Wilhelm II and is introduced by him to Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, who arrived at Tegeler Schiessplatz shortly after noon on a flight in the dirigible I.Z.6 from Friedrichshafen to Berlin. Count Zeppelin and Orville later dine with the Emperor in his castle.

August 30. Orville makes preliminary flights at Tempelhof Field, a military parade ground near Berlin, preparatory to presenting a number of exhibition flights under the sponsorship of the Berlin Lokal-Anzeiger newspaper and to training pilots for the German Wright Company.

September 3. Ambassador and Mrs. Hill entertain Orville and Katharine with members of American resident colony in Berlin attending.

September 4. Orville makes first public flight in Germany at Tempelhof Field, flying for 19 minutes two seconds for a distance of about 20 kilometers.

September 5. Ambassador and Mrs. Hill honor Orville and Katharine at dinner.September 7. In response to telegram from Russell A. Alger, stockholder in Packard Automobile Company, Wilbur goes to Detroit.

September 9. Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecilie witness several flights by Orville.

Mrs. Alfred Hildebrandt is a passenger with Orville in a flight of eight minutes 38 seconds, the first woman to fly as a passenger in an airplane in Germany.

Aero Club and Automobile Club of Berlin honor Orville, who was accompanied by Charles R. Flint and Hart O. Berg, with dinner at Imperial Automobile clubhouse in Leipziger Platz.

September 9 – October 13. Orville instructs Capt. Paul Engelhard in flying.

September 10. Verein deutscher Flugtechniker honors Orville at dinner in Berlin, and Orville and Wilbur are made honorary members of the society.

September 15. Orville takes trip with Count Zeppelin in the Zeppelin dirigible LZ6 from Frankfurt to Mannheim. Also aboard as passengers are Prince August Wilhelm, Princess Viktoria Luise, and Prince Philip of Coburg. Katharine is passenger aboard airship Parseval.

September 17. In presence of Empress of Germany, Prince Adalbert, Prince august Wilhelm, and Princess Viktoria Luise, Orville flies 54 minutes 34 seconds and rises to height of 565 feet (172 meters) at Tempelhof Field, near Berlin, a new record.

September 18. Orville flies with student pilot Capt. Paul Engelhard at Tempelhof Field, Berlin, for one hour 35 minutes 46 seconds, a new world’s record for flight with a passenger.

Wilbur submits affidavit in Dayton in The Wright Company v. The Herring-Curtiss Company and Glenn H. Curtiss patent suit.

Wilbur leaves Dayton for New York to fly Wright airplane in Hudson-Fulton Celebration, which was to open September 25.

September 20 – 27. Wright airplane arrives at Governors Island, and Wilbur and his mechanic, Charles Taylor, assemble machine in preparation for Hudson-Fulton Celebration flights.

September 23. Wilbur meets Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of the wireless, who calls on him while engaged in preparations for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration flights.

September 29. Wilbur flies from drill field at governors Island on a course around the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe’s Island and returns.

September 30, Orville reaches an altitude of 902 feet, a new record, in flight at Bornstedt Field, near Potsdam, witnessed by the German Empress, Princess Viktoria Luise, and Prince August Wilhelm.

Herring-Curtiss Company and Glenn H. Curtiss served with court order by Judge John R. Hazel in Buffalo in action by Wright brothers to restrain them from making Curtiss airplanes, Wright Company alleging that these infringed Wright patents.

October 2.  Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm is passenger on flight of about 15 minutes with Orville, the first member of a royal family to ride in an airplane. After the flight the Crown Prince presents Orville, as a token of appreciation, with a jeweled stick-pin, a crown set in rubies with the Crown Prince’s initial “W” in diamonds.

October 4. Wilbur flies over the Hudson River from Governors Island to Grant’s Tomb and back, a 20-mile flight in 33 minutes 33 seconds. On the flight the airplane passes over the British warships Inflexible and Drake. More than one million New Yorkers witness the flight.

October 5. Wilbur leaves New York for Washington to train Signal corps officers in fulfillment of the Wrights’ contract with the War Department.

October 8 – November 2. Wilbur instructs first U.S. Army fliers at college park, making 20 solo flights and 35 instructional flights with three Army Signal Corps officer, Lts. Benjamin D. Foulois, Frederic E. Humphreys, and Frank P. Lahm.

October 9. Wilbur breaks world airplane speed record over a 500-meter course in a flight of about 1,300 meters in 58 3/5 seconds, attaining a speed of 46 miles per hour.

Wilbur honored at luncheon by faculty of Maryland Agricultural college, located near College Park flying field. He is accompanied by Army officers at the flying field.

October 15. Orville makes last appearance in Germany in spectacular flight of 25 – 30 minutes before Emperor Wilhelm, the Empress and Princess Viktoria Luise at Bornstedt Field.

October 16. Orville and Katharine leave for Paris en route to the United States.

October 18. Orville in Paris visits Port Aviation at Juvisy, accompanied by Georges Tharel, and congratulates his pupil Count Charles de Lambert on spectacular flight from Port Aviation to the Eiffel Tower and return, the first airplane flight over the city of Paris.

October 19. Lt. Benjamin Foulois give Wilbur check for $20,000 as part payment for Wright machine purchased for Signal Corps, balance of $10,000 to be paid on completion of training of Lts. Frank P. Lahm and Frederic E. Humphreys.

October 20. Wrights file suit in U.S. Circuit court against Ralph Saulnier of New York, alleging infringement of their patent by his importation of Bleriot monoplane into the United States.

Wilbur request that his name be deleted from use in stage production “Inconstant George,” by John Drew, being presented at Empire Theatre in New York. His request is granted and a new name substituted on this date.

Ohio Society of New York elects Orville and Wilbur honorary members.

October 23. Wilbur states in Scientific American that future development of aviation will be in high-altitude flying because of the more favorable atmospheric conditions provided by upper air strata.

Wilbur and Lts. Foulois, Humphreys, and Lahm attend informal luncheon and reception in their honor given by President Richard W. Silvester and the board of trustees of Maryland Agricultural College.

October 27. At College Park, Wilbur flies with Mrs. Van Deman, wife of U.S. Army Capt. Ralph H. Van Deman and close friend of Katharine Wright, in a flight of four minutes, reaching an altitude of about t60 feet.

October 29. Wilbur goes to New York from Washington, returning on October 31, to discuss sale of American patent rights.   

The negotiation with New York financiers, initiated by Clinton R. Peterkin, formerly with J. P. Morgan & Company, led to formation of the Wright Company on November 22.

November 4. Orville and Katharine arrive in New York from Queenstown and are met by Wilbur and Mr. and Mrs. Courtlandt F. Bishop. Bishop was President of the Aero Club of America.

November 5. French consul general in New York, Etienne Lanal, presents Wilbur and Orville with the crosses and diplomas of the Legion of Honor awarded to them in July by the French government. Ceremony is witnessed only by Katharine and Wrights’ counsel Pliny W. Williamson.

November 7. Wilbur, Orville, and Katharine return to Dayton.

November 8. Wilbur and Orville travel to Springfield to consult with their patent attorney.

November 9. Orville goes to New York on patent business, returning to Dayton on November 11.

November 13. Orville goes to Latonia race Track, near Cincinnati, to witness exhibition flying and meets Glenn H. Curtiss for fist time since patent suits had been instigated against Curtiss.

Wilbur goes to Washington to obtain an affidavit relating to Wright patent suit from Lt. Frank P. Lahm.

Model of Wright airplane built by Milton Wright, Jr., nephew of the Wright brothers, placed on exhibit at Saks & Co. in New York.

November 20. Commission d’Aeronautique, Academie des Sciences, in Paris awards its gold medal for aeronautics to Wilbur and Orville.

The medal was designed by Rene Boudicon.

November 22. Wright Company incorporated, with a capital stock of $1,000,000 and with Wilbur Wright as president and Andrew Freedman and Orville as vice presidents, Alpheus F. Barnes is secretary and treasurer. Executive committee is composed of Andrew Freedman, chairman, Russell A. Alger, August Belmont, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Wilbur.

On the death of Wilbur in 1912, Orville succeeded him as president, remaining in this capacity until the company was sold in 1915.

November 24. Wilbur and Orville go to Hew York to attend meeting on November 27 to complete the organization of the Wright Company, which was formed to manufacture their airplanes, and to make arrangements with their attorneys for patent infringement suites against the Herring-Curtiss Company.

November 27. Wrights sell their American patent rights to Wright Company for $100,000 cash, 40 percent of the company stock, and a 10 percent royalty of every machine built.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, Robert J. Collier, and Russell A. Alger, directors of the newly formed Wright Company, order first three airplanes from company.

Wilbur and Orville give affidavits in New York in The Wright Company v. The Herring-Curtiss Company and Glenn H. Curtiss patent suit.

            The Wright Company subsequently bore the expense of prosecuting all suits against patent infringers.

November 28. Wilber and Orville return to Dayton.

November 29. Wright Company files suit against Claude Grahame-White, alleging that

Farman and Bleriot machines used by him in the United States for exhibition purposes infringes Wright patent.

November 30 – December 1. Russell A. Alger and Frederick Alger come to Dayton to confer with Wrights on organization of Wright Company and construction of airplane plant.

December 7. Wilbur goes to New York regarding the setting up of Wright company New York office.

December 11. Wilbur and Orville give affidavits in Dayton in The Wright Company v. The Herring-Curtiss Company and Glenn H. Curtiss patent suit.

December 12. Wilbur goes to New York to consult with Wright Co. lawyers in Curtiss infringement case.

December 13. Orville goes to Buffalo to attend patent trial case.

December 14 – 15. The Wright Company v. The Herring-Curtiss Company and Glenn H. Curtiss patent suit comes to trial before Judge John R. Hazel at Buffalo, with Wilbur and Orville present in court.

December 16. Wilber and Orville attend founding meeting of Detroit Aero Club.

December 17. Orville and Wilbur return to Dayton.