Wilbur Wright Notebooks (1900-01), Wright Brothers National Memorial, National Park Service

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers, Library of Congress

This is the earliest of the extant Wright notebooks and diaries. In it Wilbur appropriately begins his work at Kitty Hawk with simple observations of birds. Written in a straightforward, descriptive manner and often punctuated with little sketches, it includes a variety of large generalizations, such as Wilbur’s “No bird soars in a calm.” In his long and careful observations of bird flight, Wilbur participates in a great tradition dating at least as far back as Leonardo da Vinci, who studied birds to learn their flight secrets. – Bird Flight as Inspiration, Library of Congress
Diaries and Notebooks: 1900-1901, Wilbur Wright, Library of Congress