The Retiree Who Inspired the Wright Brothers to Take Flight

The Retiree Who Inspired the Wright Brothers to Take Flight

By the late 19th century, engineer Octave Chanute had reached the top of his field—but he left it to pursue a secret hobby. Chanute, who was born on this day in Paris in 1832, oversaw railroad construction in the West and helped bring about the explosive growth of cities there. Meanwhile, he obsessed over crewed flight for decades, at the time a highly experimental pursuit. But to protect his career and his family’s social status, he kept this i…