CrazyBusy Mama! (Dot Calm)

CrazyBusy Women in History: Katharine Wright, the “Other Wright Brother”

You’ve heard of Wilber and Orville Wright, the famous brothers who made the first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. But have you heard the story of Katharine, their only sister?

Katharine Wright was born in 1874 in Dayton, Ohio, to Milton (a clergyman) and Sarah Wright. She was the youngest of the Wright children and the only surviving girl, as her sister Ida died in infancy.

Katharine was very close to her brothers, and served as somewhat of a partner and social liaison for them (Orville was painfully shy and depended on her to deal with other people for him, even after gaining great fame in aeronautics). But when Katharine was in her early 50s, she married an old college flame. At the news of his sister’s engagement, Orville flew into a rage and didn’t speak to her until they were reconciled just a day before her death from pneumonia in 1929. Katharine had only been married for two years.

It’s believed that Katharine may have more of a hand in her brothers’ success than history gives her credit for. After Orville was critically injured in a flying attempt, she handled his business affairs. Doing this helped her to learn much about the new science of aviation. When he was well enough to fly again, Katharine and Orville joined Wilbur in France, where he’d been working. She also got Will’s affairs in order and, because both brothers were such introverts, she provided the personality, charm, and business acumen when it came to finding buyers for their planes.

While in France, all three were awarded the Legion of Honor, making Katharine one of the only women to receive such an honor. The French even good-naturedly dubbed her “the other Wright brother.”

Because of the grudge Orville held against his sister, it is thought that he “wiped her from history” – even though much of their success would not have happened without her.

You might also like to know that Katharine was a staunch supporter of a woman’s right to vote. Take a moment and think of her – and other suffragettes – when you place your vote this November.

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