We have liftoff! Dec 17, 2018

We have liftoff!

The Wright brothers documented the first sustained flight in a powered, controlled aircraft on this day in 1903. That historic achievement was the result of single-minded perseverance, study, and experimentation. The brothers had spent more than a dozen years designing, engineering, constructing, and tweaking various test craft, including groundbreaking work done on the glider shown here. Orville Wright snapped this photo of the plane as it’s piloted by his brother Wilbur, gliding down the slope of Big Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in October 1902.

© Library of Congress

palette

Today in History

Dec 17, 2019When in Rome...celebrate Saturnalia
Dec 17, 2020Pining for spring
Dec 17, 2021Bournemouth beach huts
Dec 17, 2022Mountain goats at Glacier National Park in Montana
Dec 17, 2023Bohemian waxwings in Canada
Dec 17, 2024Traditional red fishermens cabins, Reine, Norway

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 8, 2019Ready, set, read
Jan 2, 2020Winter in the Finnish wilds
May 1, 2019Purple flowers and Golden Week
Mar 17, 2019St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
May 19, 2024Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
Jul 13, 2019Batten down the hatches
Apr 2, 2019Books for children of all ages
Aug 21, 2018Ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier
Nov 30, 2024Saint Andrews Day
Nov 3, 2025World Jellyfish Day
Mar 22, 2019Fresh water on the Silk Road
Feb 5, 2022Monarch butterflies in Angangueo, Mexico
Jun 22, 2025World Rainforest Day
Nov 28, 2018Christmas comes to New York City
Dec 27, 2021Snow buntings take flight
Dec 9, 2021Glowworm caves in Australia
Mar 19, 2018Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
Aug 29, 2023American bison, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Jan 8, 2021Take this for a spin...
Jul 15, 2025Perseid meteor shower over Nevada
Jan 13, 2020Welcome to California
Apr 9, 2022Light show at the skatepark
Apr 17, 2018The Children’s Cultural Festival in Reykjavik begins today
Jan 17, 2020A seabird gets schooled
Aug 18, 2021Pearl of the Adriatic
Aug 27, 2018Tennis in the park
Dec 2, 2018Winter in Old Nuuk
Mar 30, 2018The Vestibule at Diocletian s Palace, Split, Croatia
Mar 8, 2025International Womens Day
Sep 23, 2018Ahh-tumn