Horace Wright Papers (MS-579)

The Horace Wright Papers consist primarily of albums with photographs, clippings, and mementos documenting both Horace’s life and activities, as well as commemorations of the accomplishments of Horace’s uncles, Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Materials pertaining specifically to Horace's life and activities include childhood photographs; Horace’s education at Moraine Park School, studies at Miami University, and honorary degree from Wright State University; fishing and boating at Lambert Island; photos with Wright family members including Orville Wright; farming and livestock, including chickens, ducks, and sheep; Hickory Hollow Farm Projects and Horace’s broiler chicken business; iris breeding and cultivation; trips to Hawaii (1966) and Kittyhawk, North Carolina (1967); photos of Wright Brothers memorabilia inside Horace and Susan Wright’s home; Horace and Susan’s experience of the 1974 Xenia tornado; .

Many materials in this collection also document various commemorations honoring Wilbur and Orville Wright, as well as Horace’s participation in those activities as a representative of the Wright family. These include notable anniversaries especially the 75th anniversary of flight (1978), including activities at the Wright Memorial, Carillon Park, Wright-Dunbar historic district, and other places, as well as the 75th anniversary of the French flights at Pau (1984). There are also photos and mementos from other celebrations and events at the aforementioned places, as well as at Hawthorn Hill; the National Museum of the United States Air Force; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Kettering Moraine Museum; Asahel Wright house museum; South Dayton Airport; Montgomery, Alabama; and the National Soaring Museum in New York.

Notable people pictured or described in the collection include: Horace Wright and his wife Susan (Blair) Wright; Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright (Horace’s uncles); Lorin Wright (Horace’s father); Katharine Wright Haskell; Ivonette Wright Miller and Harold “Scribbs” Miller; Lowell Thomas; Jimmy Doolittle; Neil Armstrong; Ervin Nutter and Zoe Dell Nutter; Virginia Kettering; U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr; John and Evelyn Warlick; and August Brunsman.