May 22, 1906 – Wright brothers receive a flying machine patent
On this day in 1906, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright received their first patent related to their “flying machine.” They originally filed for the patent prior to their first powered flight, which took place on December 17, 1903, a few miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. After the rejection of their first patent application, they hired a patent lawyer. This man found the language that ensured they would receive the proper credit for their invention and. After filing in 1903, they finally received U.S. patent number 821,393 on this day in 1906. It covered a system of aerodynamic control that manipulated a flying machine's surfaces.
The brothers had been experimenting with unmanned flying machines since 1899, and manned flying the next year, when they began to test their gl...
