
During the 1800s, a community of technically trained people interested in flight had evolved. They were surprised to learn that, despite humanity’s centuries-old interest in flight, little progress had been made in aeronautics before 1800.


( of 2)Īfter collecting reference material from the Smithsonian and other sources, the Wright brothers began studying their predecessors.

Letter the Wright brothers wrote to the Smithsonian Institution on May 30, 1899, asking for information about flight.
