First in Flight Study Guide

Background

The presence of women in aviation is an interesting addition to this story. One of the first women pilots happened to be brought up in the same family as the famous Wright Brothers. Katharine Wright had a similar interest in flight and like her brothers, found a place in aviation history to call her very own.

Biography: Katharine Wright

Katharine Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1874. The youngest child, with four older brothers, Katharine assumed the responsibilities of running the household when her mother died. Upon returning home from Oberlin College in 1898, Katharine taught Latin and English for ten years at Steele High School, while continuing to maintain a home for her father and brothers, Wilbur and Orville. As the brothers' interest in flight grew, so did Katharine's support. She used the money from teaching Latin and Greek lessons to purchase supplies for their experiments. In 1908, she nursed Orville back to health after he crashed at Fort Meyer, Virginia. Brigadier General Frank Lahm wrote of Katharine, "in my frequent visits to the hospital, I came to know and appreciated the sterling characteristics of this third member of the team, who was with them through the vissitudes of the early days, sharing their hopes and disappointments."

When Orville was well enough, he and Katharine sailed to Europe to join Wilbur. Katharine had mortgaged some of her property to help Wilbur while he was involved in some manufacturing patent suits. Katharine not only provided financial support, but emotional, mental and public support as well. She helped contribute ideas to many of her brothers' experiments and trials in flight. A Cleveland newspaper once wrote, "(Katharine Wright's) manner has the ease of born independence and her speech the directness that women get who talk things over constantly with men." Katharine also acted as a public figure to endorse the safety of flying and the Wrights' aircraft. In 1909, she made her first flight with Wilbur in Pau, France. This helped to demonstrate that "if a woman could do it, it must surely be safe!".

When Wilbur died of typhoid in 1912, Orville came to depend more heavily on his sister. Orville was involved in patent suits, and letters that Katharine had written were entered into the record as their evidence. In the meantime, Katharine headed the Oberlin College Alumni Group and was later elected to the Board of Trustees of Oberlin. On November 20, 1926, Katharine married Henry Haskell, editor of the Kansas City Star, and moved to Kansas City. Three years later, Katharine caught a cold which developed into pneumonia. She died on March 3, 1929 and is buried at Woodland Cemetery between her two famous brothers. Her husband later remarked that "her spirit, like the spirit of the fountain is untrammeled and lives forever in its sparkling waters." It was with Katharine's spirit, gaiety and constant support that the Wright brothers were able to make such an indelible mark on aviation.

Credits: Text taken from http://library.thinkquest.org/21229/bio/kwrig.htm
Picture taken from www.first-to-fly.com

Additional Resources

Wright and Flight
Wright Brothers Memorial Children's Page:
www.nps.gov/wrbr/indepth/children_wrbr.htm
Aerodynamics of Birds (Beginner):
http://wings.avkids.com/Book/Animals/beginner/birds-01.html
Aerodynamics of Birds (Intermediate):
http://wings.avkids.com/Book/Animals/intermediate/birds-01.html
History of the hometown of the Wright Family, Kitty-Hawk, North Carolina:
www.kitty-hawk.com/history/
Boeing Airplanes "Let's Fly" fun page:
www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/kids/

Women in Aviation
Amy Johnson: Pioneer Airwoman:
http://www.ninety-nines.org/johnson.html
PBS special presentation, "Fly Girls" - Women Air-force Pilots who helped fight WWII:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls/index.html
Women in Aviation:
www.ninety-nines.org/wia.html
Women interested in Math/Science Careers:
http://www.aviation.uiuc.edu/new/html/organization/student.htm