Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

Dayton Aviation Heritage commemorates three exceptional men—Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and Paul Laurence Dunbar—and their work to invent human flight.

Dayton Aviation Heritage commemorates three exceptional men—Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and Paul Laurence Dunbar—and their work in the Miami Valley.

Through the invention of powered flight, Wilbur and Orville made significant contributions to human history. In their Dayton, Ohio, bicycle shop these two men, self-trained in the science and art of aviation, researched and built the world's first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine capable of free, controlled, and sustained flight. The Wrights also perfected their invention during 1904 and 1905 in their hometown of Dayton.

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park is a partner of the Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial. Paul Laurence Dunbar achieved national and international acclaim in a literary world that was almost exclusively reserved for whites. This gifted and prolific writer produced a body of work that included novels, plays, short stories, lyrics, and over 400 published poems. His work, which reflected much of the African American experience in America, contributed to a growing social consciousness and cultural identity for African Americans in the United States.