<P> The Wright brothers , Orville ( August 19 , 1871 -- January 30 , 1948 ) and Wilbur ( April 16 , 1867 -- May 30 , 1912 ) , were two American aviators , engineers , inventors , and aviation pioneers who are generally credited with inventing , building , and flying the world 's first successful airplane . They made the first controlled , sustained flight of a powered , heavier - than - air aircraft on December 17 , 1903 , four miles south of Kitty Hawk , North Carolina . In 1904 -- 05 the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed - wing aircraft . Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft , the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed - wing powered flight possible . </P>
<P> The Wright brothers , Orville ( August 19 , 1871 -- January 30 , 1948 ) and Wilbur ( April 16 , 1867 -- May 30 , 1912 ) , were two American aviators , engineers , inventors , and aviation pioneers who are generally credited with inventing , building , and flying the world 's first successful airplane . They made the first controlled , sustained flight of a powered , heavier - than - air aircraft on December 17 , 1903 , four miles south of Kitty Hawk , North Carolina . In 1904 -- 05 the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed - wing aircraft . Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft , the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed - wing powered flight possible . </P>
who made the first airplane in human history
who made the first airplane in human history
Wright brothers , Orville ( August 19 , 1871 -- January 30 , 1948 ) and Wilbur ( April 16 , 1867 -- May 30 , 1912 ) ,
Wright brothers , Orville ( August 19 , 1871 -- January 30 , 1948 ) and Wilbur ( April 16 , 1867 -- May 30 , 1912 ) ,