We note with deep regret the death, from typhoid fever,
on Thursday last, at the early age of forty-five, of Mr. Wilbur Wright, to whose experiments, in partnership with his brother Orville, the present development of the aeroplane is chiefly due. The way had been prepared by the gliding machines of Lilienthal, Filcher, and Chanute, but the Wrights, who began their pioneer work at Dayton, Ohio, in 1900, were the first to convert the glider into a real flying machine by the addition of a petrol motor. Their success, culminating in the wonderful series of flights at Fort Myer and Le Mans in 1908, was all the more remarkable when it is borne in mind that they were men of limited resources, and relied entirely on their own efforts and skill as constructors, mechanics, and pilots. Indeed, we are inclined to reckon the achievement of the Wrights as the most wonderful instance of American tenacity in modern times.
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