KATHARINE WRIGHT--DEVOTED SISTER OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS

KATHARINE AT GRADUATION FROM OBERLIN COLLEGE

 

ORVILLE WRIGHT

 

WILBUR WRIGHT

 

Orville and Wilbur Wright were world-famous aviation pioneers and inventors who’ve been given credit for building the first successful airplane in the world.  In 1903 they had the first successful flight of the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  It was considered “the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight” by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.  Much is known about them, but until recently, little was known about their remarkable sister Katharine.  She was a dedicated supporter of Will and Orville and immensely proud of their achievements.  Without her, their success would have been far less known and recognized.  I recently finished reading THE WRIGHT SISTER by Richard Maurer, who learned about Katharine while doing other research.  What he learned was fascinating.  By the end of the book I wanted to jump back in history and meet the woman behind the Wright brothers.

Katharine Wright was born in 1874 and grew up in Dayton, Ohio.  Her older brother Wilbur was seven years her senior, Orville three years.  She was very connected to them, as well as her parents.  In many ways Katharine was much like her mother, who died when she was only thirteen.  Susan was a gentle, kind, and compassionate woman who was dedicated to her children and capable of making “something out of nothing” with the limited salary her husband Milton earned as a bishop of the United Brethren church. 

THE WRIGHT FLYER, 1903

 

Milton Wright was quite an amazing man for his time as well.  He encouraged Katharine to attend Oberlin College in 1898, an opportunity nearly unheard of for a woman.  In comparison, her brothers Orville and Wilbur dropped out of high school to start a printing business.  Eventually they opened a bicycle shop and later turned their passions to flying. The flying experiments which they conducted in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina were done to test ways of controlling a glider in flight, which they hoped would lead to a powered machine.

In 1907 Wilbur traveled to Europe to try to arrange airplane deals.  In 1908 the Wright brothers tested their Flyer, wanting to sell it to the U.S. government.  Following numerous successes, it crashed on September 17, 1908.  The propeller had broken and the army lieutenant on board was killed and Orville seriously injured.  It was Katharine who was with him for weeks nearly non-stop at the army hospital in Virginia.  She left her teaching job, never to return.  Then in late 1908 when Orville had nearly recovered, Wilbur invited him and Katharine to sail to France. He offered to pay Katharine a salary if she would become their social manager.  She and Orville sailed in January the following year.  She later called it “a dream.”  She met famous aristocrats and royals, who were interested in Orville and Wilbur’s inventions, but were charmed by Katharine. She was a big hit with the French, and unlike her very shy brothers, Katharine was very outgoing. She was called “the third Wright brother” by European newspapers because she was so good at connecting with important people who had an interest in buying her brothers’ planes. She and her brothers were awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest decoration in France, established by Napoleon Bonaparte.  Very few women from the U.S. have received that award. 

Upon returning to Ohio, Katharine became a huge celebrity, along with Wilbur and Orville. She became very important in entertaining visitors from around the world who were interested in aviation.  She also served her brothers well as an officer in the Wright Company.  After Wilbur died unexpectedly, Katharine turned to running the household for Orville and her father. They were all devastated by Wilbur’s death from typhoid fever, but it was Katharine who held things together. In 1914 they moved to Hawthorne Hill, an elaborate mansion outside of Dayton. 
Three years later her father died.  Orville came to depend on Katharine more and more.  He never imagined that she would choose a life away from him and whatever his needs were because she had always been there for him. She loved him and had been completely devoted to him.

But within a few years she met her college friend Harry Haskell, who was an editor with the Kansas City Star.  He had always been in love with Katharine and asked her to marry him.  She was extremely reluctant to tell Orville; she was fearful of his reaction because he had always depended upon her.  It was Harry who broke the news.  Orville was distraught and refused to attend the wedding or have anything more to do with Katharine.  She was upset with the loss of her relationship with Orville and tried valiantly to heal things, but Orville refused to give in. It was only when Katharine was on her death bed two years after her marriage to Harry that Orville came to see her. She died of pneumonia a day later. 

Katharine was remembered glowingly by one of her dear friends as a gracious, sensitive, caring, and gentle woman.  She clearly understood the pain others experienced and knew how to comfort them.

She was also a strong woman who stood up for women’s rights.  She became an advocate for equal pay for women who were faculty members at Oberlin College.  She had a fierce devotion to her former college, which was the first college to regularly admit female and black students.  Many of its students also went on to receive PhD’s. 

Orville lived twenty years beyond Katharine, until 1948.  Her husband Harry Haskell became a part owner of the Kansas City Star and won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism twice.  He eventually remarried and died in 1952.

Although Katharine Wright did not live a long life, she lived a remarkable life, filled with adventure, love, and concern for others.  I’m glad I got to know her as an individual as well as The Wright Sister.