Inventor. The younger of the two brothers who would invent the airplane and start the aerial age, he outlived his brother Wilbur by 36 years. Wilbur and Orville started a printing business in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio which soon expanded to a bicycle shop. Their interest in flying was peaked by their father, Milton, a well educated bishop in the Church of The United Brethren in Christ. The brothers inherited their mother Susan's mechanical ability (she made small appliances and toys). Their goal was to invent a device that would not only fly but take off and land. Starting with a kite, then gliders, and finally they added a propeller and an engine and the "Wright Flyer" was created. After the successful four flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they returned to Dayton and continued their experiments at Huffman Prairie. They were awarded a patent in 1906 and started trying to attract potential customers with demonstration flights in Europe and elsewhere. With orders in hand including a contract to build planes for the United States Army, Wilbur and Orville started the Wright Company and began filling orders, but upon the early death of Wilbur, Orville discouraged, sold the business in 1912 and retired. The two had been very close, lived at home and never married. Today the "Wright Flyer" is on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., along with the stopwatch used to time the first flights. (bio by: Donald Greyfield (inactive))