Skip to content
  • About
  • Services
    • Phone Interview
    • Initial Meeting
    • Invention Analysis
    • Plan of Action
    • Invention Design
    • 2D/3D Illustrations
    • Invention Engineering
    • Patent Protection
    • Market Research
    • Manufacturers Search
    • Invention Brochures
    • Licensing & Royalties
  • Submit
  • Benefits
  • Blog
  • Contact
Menu
  • About
  • Services
    • Phone Interview
    • Initial Meeting
    • Invention Analysis
    • Plan of Action
    • Invention Design
    • 2D/3D Illustrations
    • Invention Engineering
    • Patent Protection
    • Market Research
    • Manufacturers Search
    • Invention Brochures
    • Licensing & Royalties
  • Submit
  • Benefits
  • Blog
  • Contact

972-402-0000

Irving, Texas

  • About
  • Services
    • Phone Interview
    • Initial Meeting
    • Invention Analysis
    • Plan of Action
    • Invention Design
    • 2D/3D Illustrations
    • Invention Engineering
    • Patent Protection
    • Market Research
    • Manufacturers Search
    • Invention Brochures
    • Licensing & Royalties
  • Submit
  • Benefits
  • Blog
  • Contact
Menu
  • About
  • Services
    • Phone Interview
    • Initial Meeting
    • Invention Analysis
    • Plan of Action
    • Invention Design
    • 2D/3D Illustrations
    • Invention Engineering
    • Patent Protection
    • Market Research
    • Manufacturers Search
    • Invention Brochures
    • Licensing & Royalties
  • Submit
  • Benefits
  • Blog
  • Contact
Free Invention Analysis

Lost Wright Brothers’ ‘Flying Machine’ Patent Resurfaces

  • April 15, 2016

The patent file for the Wright brothers’ original “Flying Machine” has returned to the National Archives, after being misplaced 36 years ago.

The long-missing patent paperwork filed by aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright on March 23,1903, included a diagram of their invention, their petition for patent approval, the patent registry form, and their patent oath, affirming that “they verily believe themselves to be the original, joint inventors” of the so-called “Flying Machine.”

The Wright brothers didn’t wait for the patent to be granted to take flight. On Dec. 17, 1903, the brothers lofted their flying machine into the air for 12 seconds, flying 120 feet at Kitty Hawk, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. And a little more than three years after filing, the Wright brothers were granted their patent: number 821,393, assigned on May 22, 1906.

For years, the files resided in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the federal repository for historically important U.S. documents.

But more than three decades ago, the Wright patent took a wrong turn, embarking on an unexpected journey that diverged from its proper place for quite a bit longer than expected.

In 1978, the National Archives lent a number of documents — including the Wright brothers’ patent — to the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum, for an aviation exhibit commemorating the 75th anniversary of the first successful flight of a manned, powered, heavier-than-air craft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Archivists marked the documents as returned in 1980, but a later search failed to locate the patent, and it was added to the official list of missing files. Other important entries currently on the National Archives “Missing Historical Documents and Items” list include the patent drawing for Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, assorted 19th-century presidential pardons, several telegrams written by President Abraham Lincoln, and a diamond-studded dagger that was given to President Harry S. Truman.

Sometimes, historic documents and artifacts are stolen for private sale, and the National Archives exhorts collectors and free patent searchers to avoid illegally buying, selling or trading in stolen government documents, and to report any that they might encounter to the proper officials.

But important documents can also simply be misplaced. With more than 107,600 cubic feet (3,047 cubic meters) of patent files in storage at the National Archives, containing 269 million pages, it’s not very difficult to imagine how a single patent could “disappear” if it were mistakenly filed in the wrong spot.

Which is apparently what happened to the Wright brothers’ patent. A National Archives representative revealed in a statement that the patent had been filed in the wrong box, and that the Archival Recovery Program tracked it down on March 22, after a targeted search. A folder holding the missing documents had surfaced in a National Archives storage “cave” in Lenaxa, Kansas, The Washington Post reported on April 2.

After spending more than three decades in hiding, the recovered documents will be getting some long-overdue attention. Several pages will appear in an exhibit at the National Archives Museum’s West Rotunda Gallery, beginning May 20, to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Orville and Wilbur Wright receiving patent number 821,393.

  • Patent Application, Patents
Inventions
Tech

Latest Posts

New patent reveals Facebook is exploring a modular phone
New patent reveals Facebook is exploring a modular phone
Facebook is exploring new handheld gadget with interchangeable parts that could used like a smartphone or portable speaker, a new ...
Should the Patent and Trademark Office Be Allowed to Change Its Mind?
Should the Patent and Trademark Office Be Allowed to Change Its Mind?
A patent on one-click checkout? On a method for exercising a cat? On a lawn bag that looks like a ...
Provisional Patent Applications: To File or Not File
Provisional Patent Applications: To File or Not File
Since 1995, the United States has allowed patent applicants to file provisional applications as an alternative to filing non-provisional utility ...
Joint 3D scanning-3D printing device officially receives US patent
Joint 3D scanning-3D printing device officially receives US patent
Separate devices for 3D scanning and 3D printing could soon be a thing of the past, according to a new ...
Facebook seeks patent for payment system
Facebook seeks patent for payment system
Facebook has moved the country’s patent office seeking patent for its invention relating to a transactional payment system that allows ...
Practical Pointers for managing Patents
Practical Pointers for managing Patents
Adopting good house keeping practices is a prerequisite to efficient management of patents. To avoid costly mistakes while prosecuting and ...
Previous
Next
View all Posts

What's on Your Mind?

Submit your Idea for your Free
Patent Search Now.

FREE PATENT SEARCH
  • 972.402.0000
  • [email protected]

What's on Your Mind?

Submit your Idea for your Free
Patent Search Now.

FREE PATENT SEARCH
  • 972.402.0000
  • [email protected]

Give Us a Call

972.402.0000

Evaluate

  • Phone Interview
  • Initial Meeting
  • Invention Analysis
  • Plan of Action

Develop

  • Invention Design
  • 2D/3D Illustrations
  • Invention Engineering
  • Patent Protection

Launch

  • Market Research
  • Manufacturers Search
  • Invention Brochures
  • Licensing & Royalties

Address

6565 N.MacArthur Blvd, Irving, Texas 75039

Phone

972.402.0000

800.962.3032

972.402.0095

Email

[email protected]

Evaluate

  • Phone Interview
  • Office Meeting
  • Invention Analysis
  • Plan of Action

Develop

  • Invention Design
  • 2D/3D Illustrations
  • Invention Engineering
  • Patent Protection

Launch

  • Market Research
  • Manufacturers Search
  • Invention Brochures
  • Licensing & Royalties

Follow Us

Facebook-f Instagram Linkedin-in Pinterest-p Twitter
© 2022, Lonestar Patent Services, Inc.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Free Invention Analysis

×

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

This agreement keeps your idea safe between you and Lonestar Patent Services.

I understand that the product idea information I submit cannot be used, disclosed or sold without my express written permission. I also understand that all Lonestar Patent Services employees are required to sign an ethics and confidentiality agreement for my protection. I believe that I am the original inventor of the idea described herein. I authorize Lonestar Patent Services to review my idea and contact me in 3 to 5 business days with the results. I acknowledge that Lonestar Patent Services monitors and records telephone calls for quality assurance. I understand that Lonestar Patent Services does not promise any financial gain from the development of any new product idea.

By clicking the “submit” button below as my electronic signature, I expressly consent to being contacted about Lonestar Patent Services by phone call, auto-dialed phone call including prerecorded voice messages, text messages or email at any number or email address I provide. I understand that my consent is not a requirement for purchase of services.

Fee based service.