Milton Wright, Father of the Wright Brothers, Didn't Say That!

Milton Wright, father of Wilbur and Orville Wright, was proud of his son's accomplishments. Writing to Wilbur on September of 1909, he told him he could hardly sleep in these exciting times, ".You know I have the greatest interest in the things you do..... Trust in God, and be true, and you will have the victory. I have tied it so much, and often. I sleep pretty well, considering my interest in your affairs. I trust you for the greatest precaution, and the greatest courage and achievements. I met a minister this evening who stays in the mountains of Carolina, who manifests great interest in you and Orville.....With some trouble to sleep these exciting times my health is much improved. The children are well & good. Yours, Adieu, Milton Wright."(1) 

 

"Bishop Milton Wright sitting in a hammock", image courtesy of Wright State University Special Collections and Archives, Wright Brothers Collection (MS-1), Wright Brother Photographs>1647.

 

Yet, there are those who put in print imagined quotes of Milton's that he never said, or even thought. One writer stated, "The Ohio bishop was a troubled man.....his sons, Wilbur and Orville, had become consumed by the quixotic possibilities of flight. He now regretted the small toy helicopter that lifted itself into the air that he had given his boys. When a famed German glider pioneer crashed in a flying accident in 1896, the bishop feared for his sons, now 29 and 26 years old respectively. He delivered a sermon in his Dayton church: "If God had meant man to fly, he would have given him wings." (2)

But the fact is, Milton Wright never said "If God had meant man to fly, he would have given him wings." He never said it. He never thought it. The writer continued,  

".....Quick to follow Wilbur's lead, Orville shrank from the limelight and speaking, saying once, 'The only creature that can fly and speak is a parrot.' Wilbur, on the other hand, was articulate both on paper and in speech....." 

Here, the writer misquoted again, as Orville never said "The only creature that can fly and speak is a parrot". It was actually Wilbur, when asked to speak at the Aero Club de la Sarthe in September of 1908, who said, "I know of only one bird- the parrot- that talks; and it can't fly very high." At that time, Wilbur simply chose to make a joke, and pass on talking about his latest flight record making.

Shared on Facebook, a user wrote, "In the early 1870's a bishop who had charge of a small denominational college made his yearly visit and stayed, of course, with the president of the school. The bishop, in conversation one evening boasted a firm belief to the president that everything that could be invented had been invented. The college president thought differently. 'In fifty years,' ventured the president, men will learn to fly like birds. The bishop was shocked. 'Flight,' he said, "is reserved for angels and you have been guilty of blasphemy.' The name of the bishop was Milton Wright....the father of Orville and Wilbur Wright!" (3)

But the fact is, Milton Wright never said "Flight is reserved for angels...". The entire event is fiction. The imagined account takes on various forms; sometimes Milton provides the opinion that flight will occur within 50 years, and is accused of blasphemy by others, and other times, as above, Milton is the one accusing another of blasphemy. It is all nonsense, and none of it occurred.

 

Copyright 2026-Getting the Story Wright  

 

 Notes-

1. Library of Congress, Family Papers: Correspondence-Wright, Milton, April-November. Milton Wright to Wilbur Wright, September 2, 1909 letter.

2. "Bishop's sons helped give mankind wings", by James Humes, December 10, 2011, The Pueblo Chieftain.

3. "Bishop Milton Wright's disbelief in human flight", Terry Young, December 15, 2019, Facebook post. Sorry Terry, I'm sure you simply repeated this fable from some other internet post without any ill intent.