Katharine, the Wright sister.
The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, are justifiably famous for their invention of and first successful flight of the airplane, but their sister, Katharine (1874-1929), was an equally important part of the team.
The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, are justifiably famous for their invention of and first successful flight of the airplane, but their sister, Katharine (1874-1929), was an equally important part of the team.
Katharine was the one who paid the bills, made speeches on her brother’s behalf (they were very reticent and poor public speakers), promoted her brothers and marketed their invention, led tours, met with business contacts and public officials world-wide,
managed the family’s bicycle shop, negotiated contracts, nursed her brothers when they were injured, and basically ran their entire business so Wilbur and Orville could get on with what they did best - designing and building flying machines.
Oh, and in addition to organizing her brothers’ lives, Katharine also taught high school Latin and organized suffrage marches in her home town of Dayton, Ohio.
As her siblings Wilbur and Orville became more involved in designing, building, and testing flying machines,
As her siblings Wilbur and Orville became more involved in designing, building, and testing flying machines,
Katharine took on the organizational aspects of their business. Although the two oldest brothers married and left the home, Katharine, Wilbur, and Orville showed no interest in finding spouses. They seemed bound to remain together and let no one else come between them.
Wilbur and Orville never married, and Katharine only married when she was 52 years old. Wilbur had already died, and Orville refused to attend her wedding. He did not speak to her again until she was on her deathbed three years later.
Katharine was a champion for women’s rights, & started attending suffrage meetings in Dayton in 1912. In 1914, she arranged a suffrage parade in downtown Dayton that had over 1,300 marchers including her brothers & her father. She served as President of the Young Women’s League
for two years and was also a member of the Dayton Women’s Club and the League of Women Voters. Her husband Henry “Harry” Haskell, whom she married in 1926, shared her opinions about women’s rights.
When Wilbur & Orville perfected their flying machine, Katharine came into her own, arranging meetings & giving speeches in English & French. The brothers worked on the plane, & she became the publicist, met with dignitaries at parties. The crowds loved her, so did the newspapers
Katharine continued to take over more and more of the day-to-day operations and the promotional aspects of the business upon their return. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912, and their father Milton died in 1917, leaving Orville increasingly dependent upon Katharine.
Katharine stayed involved in Dayton’s women’s groups and was elected to the Oberlin College’s Board of Trustees. She eventually married in 1926, but died only three years later, of pneumonia, in 1929.
Orville lived until 1948, and donated $300,000 (worth several million in today’s money) in honor of his sister, to her Alma Mater, Oberlin.
Loading suggestions...