In June 1899 a letter arrived at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. "I am an enthusiast but not a crank," wrote a bicycle-shop owner from Dayton, Ohio. "I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then if possible add my mite to help." The letter was from Wilbur Wright, who, with his brother Orville, wanted to build an airplane. They began with kites and gliders, built their own wind tunnel and even recalculated long-accepted physics equations. Four years later on a blustery North Carolina beach, they succeeded where all others had failed. The longest flight was only...
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