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Markers of Distinction

Octave Chanute
1832–1910
Aviation pioneer

Although the Wright brothers are
remembered as the first aviation pioneers,
they were profoundly influenced by Octave
Chanute. Wilbur Wright claimed that "if
[Chanute] had not lived, the entire history
of progress in flying would have been other
than it has been."

A renowned civil engineer, Chanute built
railroads that opened the American West,
and designed Chicago's Union Stock Yards.
He was mesmerized, though, by the
possibility of flight. While in his 60s,
Chanute produced a "two-surface gliding
machine," which was flown over the Indiana Dunes by a handful of younger associates. His Progress in Flying Machines (1894) quickly became the classic text of aviation experimenters. Chanute later advised the Wright brothers and photographed their flying experiments at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. During this time, Chanute lived at 224 (formerly 413) East Huron Street.