Everyone knows the story of the first manned airplane flight, right? The Ohio-based Wright Brothers flew a biplane more than 850 feet across North Carolina’s Outer Banks in December of 1903. That historical event is featured on the license plates and on the state quarters of Ohio and North Carolina. But some people say someone else deserves the credit: a German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead. He supposedly flew his flying machine two years before the Wright Brothers in Fairfield, Connecticut.Additional mixing by Bella Fabbo. Historical voices by Carter Dewees and Bill Buchner.

Everyone knows the story of the first manned airplane flight, right? The Ohio-based Wright Brothers flew a biplane more than 850 feet across North Carolina’s Outer Banks in December of 1903. That historical event is featured on the license plates and on the state quarters of Ohio and North Carolina. But some people say someone else deserves the credit: a German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead. He supposedly flew his flying machine two years before the Wright Brothers in Fairfield, Connecticut. Additional mixing by Bella Fabbo. Historical voices by Carter Dewees and Bill Buchner.

Did a German immigrant in CT fly before the Wright Brothers?

For Davis Dunavin, being a journalist is a little bit like being a cross between a wandering storyteller and a detective. For nearly eight years, he's set sail to learn about pirate history, hiked the Appalachian Trail, spent the night in Lizzie Borden's house and browsed the books in Mark Twain's library, all in search of the hidden stories buried in everyday places across the Northeast.This season on Off The Path, he digs deep to explore the origins of things that are ubiquitous, Teddy Roosevelt, the tuxedo, the first video game, as well as those stories we think we already know, like the first airplane flight or stories that aren't as well-known, like the beginnings of the artist behind the Barack Obama “Hope” poster. But every single episode involves an element of surprise, an ironic twist or a fascinating connection you might not expect when the story begins.

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Did a German immigrant in CT fly before the Wright Brothers?

Did a German immigrant in CT fly before the Wright Brothers?

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