Orville Wright (1871 - 1948)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during Orville's lifetime.

In 1871, in the year that Orville Wright was born, on March 29th, Royal Albert Hall in London was officially opened by Queen Victoria. Construction had begun in 1867 and the hall was named after Queen Victoria's husband, who had died in 1861 - 10 years before.

In 1897, he was 26 years old when on July 17th, the Klondike Gold Rush began when the first successful prospectors returned to Seattle after mining in the Yukon. They arrived on the ships Excelsior and Portland, bringing vast quantities of gold - over $32,000,000 in today's money - and everyone rushed to become rich in the Yukon.

In 1904, when he was 33 years old, the World's Fair, officially known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was held in St. Louis, Missouri. Attended by nearly 19.7 million people (and later the subject of a Judy Garland film), the Fair was funded by federal, state and local sources to the tune of $15 million. As the name suggests, the Fair was suggested as a way to celebrate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. In the past, World's Fairs were a way of bringing new technology to the attention of the masses and this fair was no exception - the use of electricity (the public feared it at the time), personal cars, airplanes, and the electric streetcar were all highlighted.

In 1918, by the time he was 47 years old, in January, President Wilson presented his Fourteen Points, which assured citizens that World War I was being fought for a moral cause and outlined a plan for postwar peace in Europe. The only leader of the Allies to present such a plan, the Europeans thought Wilson was being too idealistic. The points included free trade, open agreements, democracy and self-determination. They were based on the research and suggestions of 150 advisors.

In 1948, in the year of Orville Wright's passing, on May 14th, the State of Israel was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel's first Premier, and the U.S. officially recognized Israel. That evening, Egypt launched an air assault on Israel.