In 1903, brothers Wilbur Wright, 36, and Orville Wright, 32, built the Wright Flyer, a lightweight wood-and-muslin biplane powered by a small gasoline engine and twin propellers, for less than $1,000 using profits from their bicycle shop. 

Their mechanic, Charlie Taylor, designed and built the engine. 

Just nine days after renowned scientist Samuel Langley’s Aerodrome, backed by $50,000 from the U.S. War Department and another $20,000 from the Smithsonian, (roughly $2.6 million in today’s dollars), crashed into the Potomac River for the second time on December 8, 1903, 

Orville made the first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, changing history.