THE WRIGHT COMPANY—NOV. 22–27, 1909
Posted on 07 January 2021
The Wright Company was the commercial aviation business venture of the Wright brothers. The company maintained its headquarters office in New York City and built its factory in Dayton, Ohio. The two buildings in Dayton were the first in the United States constructed specifically for an airplane factory.
November 22nd
The Wright Company is incorporated, with a capital stock offering of $1,000,000 and with Wilbur Wright as president and Orville as a vice president. The executive committee is composed of Andrew Freedman, chairman, Russell A. Alger, August Belmont, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Wilbur Wright. On the death of Wilbur in 1912, Orville succeeded him as president, remaining in this capacity until the company was sold in 1915.
November 24th
Wilbur and Orville go to New York to attend a meeting on November 27 to complete the organization of the Wright Company, which was formed to manufacture their airplanes, and to make arrangements with their attorneys for patent infringement suits against the Herring-Curtiss Company.
November 27th
The Wright brothers sell their American patent rights to the Wright Company for $100,000 cash, 40-percent of the company stock, and a 10-percent royalty on every flying machine built. The directors of the newly formed Wright Company, ordered the first three airplanes. The three directors: Cornelius Vanderbilt, an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping; Robert J. Collier, principal of the publishing company P. F. Collier & Son, and president of the Aero Club of America; and Russell A. Alger, American politician, and businessman. He served as the 20th Governor of Michigan, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of War.
