Wilbur and Orville were born in Indiana and Ohio, respectively; neither sought education beyond high school, though both showed an aptitude for mechanics and independent study from an early age. In 1878 the Wright brothers first became interested in flight when their father brought a toy whirligig home for them to play with. They tinkered with the basic design and built their own models, displaying an inventiveness that would stay with them throughout their lives.

When the brothers heard of Otto Lilienthal's fatal glider crash in 1896, they began to seriously consider the problem of flight. They meticulously studied contemporary aeronautical research--including that of American engineer Octave Chanute (1832-1910), a pioneer of the biplane --and observed the flights of soaring birds.

They first tackled the problem of controlling the machine in all three axes of movement (up and down, side to side, forward and backward) without resorting to the pilot...