The third Wright 'brother'

Published on Saturday 18 January 2003 00:00

HER siblings called her "Sves", a diminutive meaning little sister, but the world knew her as the third Wright brother.

Without Katharine Wright’s sacrifice, the aeroplane pioneered by Orville and Wilbur would, if you will excuse the pun, not have got off the ground.

But that unique contribution was overshadowed by the renown of her brothers after they achieved the first powered and controlled flight in 1903.

A century on, history has forgotten Katharine.

This year is the centenary of that achievement and many believe the "mother of flying" should be accorded her special due for "giving mankind access to the aerial highway".

The brothers were visionaries, but pathologically shy, with no business acumen and they were less well educated than their teacher sister, who tutored them on the mathematics of aerodynamics.

She designed and sewed fabric to cover wings of experimental aircraft. She acted as social secretary, marketing and public relations officer and sales manager for their new company and she travelled the world, captivating the elite.

Nancy Fessenden, an eminent US aviation historian has mounted a campaign to reaffirm Katharine’s status.

She said: " She was a genius at managing money and providing finance for the brothers’ experiments. Her life savings kept the family while they perfected the aeroplane. In 1903, after years of experimentation, the brothers made the first powered and controlled flight.

"Katharine was their strength and support. She abandoned her life unselfishly and completely to her brothers."

Katharine was born in Ohio in 1874, the youngest child in the family. Her mother died when she was 15 and she became head of the household.

In their youth, Katharine, Wilbur and Orville made a pact never to marry. Katharine was charismatic and popular. She was described as having "coal-black hair, deep blue eyes, and a smile that blinds you".

A spokeswoman for the Wright Brothers’ Aeroplane Company and Museum of Pioneering (WBAC) in Ohio, said: "She promoted their aeroplane by working with the US Army and entertained royalty, politicians and presidents. She travelled with them to the French, Italians, and British and became a huge celebrity. When she left France, she was awarded the Legion of Honour."

Katharine immersed herself in aviation science and became deeply involved in her brothers’ aircraft business.

But Wilbur died in 1912 and in 1915 Orville sold the company. In the Twenties, Katharine began to be forgotten.

Joan Hrubeck, the director of the US Women’s Air and Space Museum, said: "Katharine is left out for recognition. The limelight shone on her brothers, but when it came to meeting presidents and princes, it was she who guided them."

She is also credited with inventing the first female flying suit. Roger Mola, of Washington’s Smithsonian Institute said: She used rope to bundle her skirt at the ankles, thereby ensuring modesty.

Towards the end of her life she was estranged from Orville when she married an old flame, Henry Haskell, the editor of the Kansas City Star.

Orville refused to attend the wedding and ignored his sister until she was dying of pneumonia. He was at her bedside when she died in 1929. The WBAC spokeswoman added: "He needed her then, as he always had done."