In mythology from around the world the ability to fly was reserved strictly for the gods. Stories about human beings constructing flying machines were usually punctuated with a moral about hubris. Vain attempts at flight were an easy metaphor for the limits of human ingenuity. Even in the late 19th century, when technology was progressing quickly and inventors were becoming celebrities, those who devoted themselves to flying machines were written off as daredevils or cranks. However, the stigma did not deter a handful of obsessed would-be aeronauts. Around the turn of the century a number of inventors from different corners of the world raced to be the first in flight. The Wright Brothers have gone down in history as the inventors of the airplane, but were they truly the first people to create a working flying machine? Tune-in and find out how Olympic opening ceremonies, Eagle Thrones, and the world’s tiniest balloon all play a role in the story.  

Works Cited

Hallion, Richard. Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age from Antiquity through the First World War. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Hoffman, Paul. Wings of Madness Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight. William Collins, 2017.

McCullough, David G. The Wright Brothers. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2016.

Ogilvie, Gordon, and Richard Pearse. The Riddle of Richard Pearse. (Second Edition.). A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1974.

Rodliffe, C. Geoffrey. Wings over Waitohi: the Story of Richard Pearse. C.G. Rodliffe in Association with Avon Press, 1997.

Santos-Dumont, Alberto. My Airships: the Story of My Life. Dover Publications, 1973.

“Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company The Story of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the Invention of the Airplane, and  Man’s First Flights.” Brothers.org, wright-brothers.org/.