WSU celebrates the 111th anniversary of Wright Brothers' first flight

Wright State University held a commemoration event in honor of the 111th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first 39-minute flight today in the student union atrium.

“Our exhibit here today is just to teach our students more about the legacy of the Wrights, and why this university carries their name,” said Dawne Dewey, head of the university's Special Collections and Archives Department.

The campus event drew a lot of attention this afternoon as students and visitors wandered around looking at actual artifacts from the prestigious flight.

In the early 1900s, Roy Zellers of Brewer Heights, Ohio worked hand in glove with Orville Wright to hand-fashion the delicate aircraft of that time. One of the tables at the event this afternoon carried many of Zellers' original woodworking and aircraft hand tools that were used in making airplanes.

What once started as a bike manufacturing company turned out to be one of the greatest inventions of all. Two regular guys taught themselves how to fly and then taught the world how to fly, and it all started right here in Dayton, Ohio.

In the 1970s, the Wright family entrusted the college to carry the name and the collection of papers. Wright State University holds the largest Wright Brothers collection in the world.

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