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
Dec 17, 2025Eurasian red squirrel in Northumberland, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 15, 2022Borovets ski resort in Bulgaria
May 23, 2020Bask in the glow—It s World Turtle Day
May 5, 2019Celebrating Mexico in a Cultural Capital
May 19, 2024Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
Sep 5, 2020Beaver achievers
Mar 20, 2024National Cherry Blossom Festival
Feb 10, 2020This park is Superkilen
Sep 23, 2023Autumnal equinox
Feb 7, 2026Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia
Sep 8, 2020Victory Day in Valletta
Feb 18, 2023Eben Ice Caves, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
Dec 8, 2024Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens
Jul 21, 2019A peek behind the royal curtain
Mar 12, 2024Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Dec 4, 2019Protecting endangered giants
Jun 10, 2020The Millennium at 20
Nov 19, 2024Tasmans Arch, Tasmania, Australia
Aug 26, 2022Kiteboarding and windsurfing in Croatia
Jul 17, 2022The Wave at Coyote Buttes
Aug 28, 2022Bearded reedlings in Flevoland
Feb 3, 2023Quebec City for Winter Carnival
Sep 5, 20242024 Toronto International Film Festival
Apr 1, 2020It s Census Day—make it count
Aug 23, 2019Harvest time in the Palouse
Sep 17, 2021Eye of the cave
Oct 12, 2023Farmers Day
Nov 16, 2024Wadden Sea coast, Friesland, Netherlands
Nov 23, 2018Let the holiday shopping commence
Feb 21, 2022Presidents Day
Mar 11, 2019You re feeling sleepy