Aviation pioneer Orville Wright was recognized by The Franklin Institute twice. First in 1914 with a Cresson Medal and second in 1933 with a Franklin Medal for the "valuable investigations carried out by him and his brother, Wilbur. From which, they obtained the first reliable scientific data concerning the principles of flight and the design of aeroplanes, upon which data they constructed the first heavier than air machine which flew by its own power under human control." Wilbur Wright had died in 1912.
Amelia Earhart and Orville Wright at The Franklin Institute (1933-12-17)The Franklin Institute
Aviation pioneer Orville Wright was recognized by The Franklin Institute in 1933 with a Franklin Medal for the "valuable investigations carried out by him and his brother, Wilbur. From which, they obtained the first reliable scientific data concerning the principles of flight and the design of aeroplanes, upon which data they constructed the first heavier than air machine which flew by its own power under human control." Wilbur Wright had died in 1912.
Orville Wright instructed that, upon his death, The Franklin Institute should receive his collection of airfoils and devices, as it was the first scientific organization to give the Wright brothers credit and ranking for achieving sustained powered flight. Today, The Franklin Institute Science Museum has the largest collection of artifacts from the Wright brothers' workshop. Efforts are underway to provide online access to the entire collection.
Letter from Secretary to Orville Wright, Informing of the award of the Elliott Cresson Medal and inviting Wright to the awards ceremony, 3/6/1914 (1914-03-06)Original Source: Case File for Orville Wright's 1914 Elliot Cresson Medal
Elliot Cresson Medal
1914
Telegram from Secretary to Orville Wright, Requesting the title of the address to be given on May 20th, 5/4/1914 (1914-05-04)Original Source: Case File for Orville Wright's 1914 Elliot Cresson Medal
The Franklin Medal
1933
The Orville Wright presentation is made possible by support from The Barra Foundation and Unisys.
This website is the effort of an in-house special project team at The Franklin Institute, working under the direction of Carol Parssinen, Senior Vice-President for the Center for Innovation in Science Learning, and Bo Hammer, Vice-President for The Franklin Center.
Special project team members from the Educational Technology department are:
Karen Elinich, Barbara Holberg, Margaret Ennis, and Zach Williams.
Special project team members from the Curatorial department are:
John Alviti.
The project's Advisory Board Members are:
Ruth Schwartz-Cowan, Leonard Rosenfeld, Nathan Ensmenger, and Susan Yoon.
