Milton Wright, a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, is probably most famous as the father to aviation pioneers, Wilbur and Orville Wright. Though typically referred to as Bishop Milton Wright due to his devotion and involvement in the church, Wright was also a keen genealogist and a committed diarist. This collection of his diaries range from entries as a young man in 1857 until his death in 1917. Wright’s meticulous recording ran from the quotidian like the weather and tracking his expenses, to the extraordinary, like Wilbur and Orville’s first flight. The Bishop’s diaries provide a window not only on the achievements of his famous progeny, but his life and a record of life around the dawn of the 20th century.
For more information on this collection, please view the collection finding aid or visit Wright State University Special Collections and Archives.
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Diaries 1857-1917
Milton Wright
The Special Collections and Archives in the Wright State University Libraries was chosen in 1975 to be the repository for an extensive collection of Wright Brothers' material. Among the thousands of photographs, books, technical journals, correspondence, financial records, and memorabilia were the diaries of Bishop Milton Wright. These diaries of the father of Wilbur and Orville Wright record the full range of experiences of his adult life from 1857 to his death in 1917. They provide a detailed chronicle of Milton Wright's dynamic, and sometimes controversial, ministry and leadership in the United Brethren Church, and his role as the father of the famed inventors of powered flight. The diaries demonstrate the Bishop's awareness of local, national, and world events, as well as his political allegiance and support of progressive movements, such as women's suffrage. Probably the most important contribution the diaries make to present scholarship on the Wright Brothers is the greater knowledge we gain about the dynamics of the Wright family. Through his daily writings, Milton Wright allows us to know him as husband, father, and grandfather. Taken as a whole, the diaries provide an essential resource in the study of the Wright Brothers' career in aviation, the history of the United Brethren Church, and the life of a man dedicated to his family and his church. Bishop Milton Wright recorded his life experiences in forty-one small, black and brown, leather-bound volumes. His handwriting was superb! While most entries are brief, some are detailed. At the end of each year, Milton wrote several paragraphs about the year's events. He lists expenses and his salary for the year, family history and genealogy, remedies for his aches and pains, and important milestones in the lives of his children and in the church he served.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1917
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1917 and continue until April 2, 1917. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, though this diary includes a record of Orville establishing the Wright Aeronautical Laboratory and more. The diary ends on April 3rd because Bishop Milton Wright died on that day at the age of 88. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1916
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1916 and continue until December 1916. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a records of Milton, Katharine, and Orville taking a trip to Waubec Island, Orville's purchase of Lambert Island, and more. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1915
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1915 and continue until December 1915. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a records of Orville being sick with neuralgia and more. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1914
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1914 and continue until December 1914. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Milton moving to Hawthorne Hill in April of 1914 and more. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1913
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1913 and continue until December 1913. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Orville testing an automatic stabilizer at Huffman Prairie, the Great Dayton Flood in March of 1913, and more. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1912
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1912 and continue until December 1912. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Wilbur Wright becoming ill and later dying in May at the age of 45, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1911
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1911 and continue until December 1911. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1910
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1910 and continue until December 1910. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Wilbur and Orville establishing the Wright School of Aviation, the brothers being issued aviator license by the Aero Club of America, the purchase of property for Hawthorne Hill, and more. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1909
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1909 and continue until December 1909. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of several flights performed by the Wright Brothers, the Homecoming Celebration in Dayton where Milton delivers the invocation. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1908
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1908 and continue until December 1908. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the Wright Brothers signing a formal contract with the U.S. Signal Corps for airplanes, Wilbur flying at Le Mans, and a the first crash that kills Thomas Selfridge and injures Orville. which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1907
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1907 and continue until December 1907. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the Wrights conducting experiments with Hydroplanes on the Great Miami River, the brothers traveling to Europe to sell a plane, and them receiving a contract for planes from the US War Department. In October of 1907 Milton Wright is interviewed in Dayton about the Wright Brothers' flights. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1906
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1906 and continue until December 1906. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the Wright Brothers receiving a patent #821,393 for a flying machine, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1905
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1905 and continue until December 1905. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the Wright Brothers' first flight with their 1905 machine at Huffman Prairie and Milton watches Wilbur fly, which the researcher might find of interest. This was also the year that Milton Wright retires as a bishop. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1904
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1904 and continue until December 1904. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the Wright Brothers constructing a new plane at Huffman Prairie, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1903
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1903 and continue until December 1903. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the Wright Brothers building their second wind tunnel, testing a new motor, returning to Kitty Hawk to conduct their first successful powered flight. The Bishop recorded the telegram the brothers sent informing him of the first flight in his diary. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1902
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1902 and continue until December 1902. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of the construction of the 1902 glider and in December begin construction of a 4-cylinder engine, which the researcher might find of interest. Wilbur also went to Huntington, Indiana, to defend his father in a case involving laymen's misuse of church funds. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1901
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1901 and continue until December 1901. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Octave Chanute visits Dayton, and the Wright Brothers conduct air foil tests, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1900
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1900 and continue until December 1900. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Wilburn and Orville leaving to go to Kitty Hawk and conducting experiments, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1899
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1899 and continue until December 1899. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Wilbur writing to the Smithsonian for information on flight, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1898
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1898 and continue until December 1898. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1897
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1897 and continue until December 1897. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1896
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1896 and continue until December 1896. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Wilbur and Orville manufacturing their own bicycle and Otto Lilienthal dying. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1895
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1895 and continue until December 1895. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
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Milton Wright Diaries: 1894
Milton Wright
Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, regularly recorded entries in his diary from 1857 until his death in 1917. This diary’s entries began on January 1894 and continue until December 1894. Wright records a variety of information regarding his travels, family history, and expenditures. Of particular note, this diary includes a record of Wilbur and Orville starting a weekly magazine called Snapshots, which the researcher might find of interest. View the transcript of the Milton Wright diaries.
