The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who are credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903 four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These published letters from Wilbur Wright give us insight into the amount of resilience, positivity, and inventiveness it took to succeed.
Pair “Letters from Wilbur Wright” with “The Scientific Method” and ask students to discuss what is necessary to make advances in science and technology. How does Wilbur Wright describe his process for creating an airplane? How does this compare to Thomas Edison’s scientific process, as depicted in “The Scientific Method”? What shared traits do the scientists and inventors in the two texts possess?