Friday, October 15, 1915. The Wright Company sold.
Orville Wright sold the Wright Company and basically went into retirement at an early age.
The Wright siblings are interesting. Neither aircraft brother married. Wilbur was already dead by this time, but Orville would lead a long life. At this point in time he was still living with his father and sister Katherine. His father, Milton, was a clergyman and would die in 1917. Another brother, Reuchlin Wright, was also living at this time, but was married and somewhat estranged from the family. Yet another brother, Lorin, was also living and was also married. His sister Katherine continued to live with Orville following their father's death, but married in 1926 at which time she was 40 years old. Orville regarded her marriage as a horrible act of betrayal, and did not speak to her again until he was near death in 1948 at age 76.
Two siblings, twins, had died in their childhood.
The dynamics of the family are unusual. They were all well educated, and obviously highly intelligent. For some reason the three younger Wrights had a very close bond with their father and were seemingly dedicated to him, and each other, relatively uniquely. Remaining unmarried for life, as Orville did, was quite unusual at the time, and there's every indication that Wilbur, Orville and Katherine up until her marriage, were celibate and chaste. There's no indication at all of same sex attraction, as such conditions always are speculated upon in our current day and age. Orville commented at one point that he didn't have time for a wife and an airplane, which perhaps was correct, but most men do find time for a wife.
Posthumous modern psychoanalysis has pondered if the two younger Wrights had Asperger's Syndrome, which if possible is impossible to know. It could be that they fit into that rare category of humans who are simply not very interested in sex or family life, something current people have a very hard time grasping.
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