Connecticut Names Gustave Whitehead First in Flight

Stephen Pope

Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 09:31 PM ET

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** Gustave Whitehead**

Key Takeaways:

Connecticut legislators passed a bill to recognize Gustave Whitehead, not the Wright Brothers, as the first to achieve powered flight, specifically north of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
This move challenges North Carolina's historical claim and the widely accepted recognition of the Wright Brothers, reigniting a long-standing debate.
The contention is based on newly considered evidence, including a lithograph and an eyewitness account from 1901, and has gained support from sources like *Jane's All the World's Aircraft*, though the Smithsonian and North Carolina strongly disagree.
The bill mandates the governor revise "Powered Flight Day" to honor Whitehead and awaits the governor's signature to become law.

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It’s a debate that could ignite a feud between the North and South. This week Connecticut legislators passed a bill that includes a paragraph buried within its text stating that Gustave Whitehead and not the Wright Brothers should be recognized as the first to fly — at least north of the Tappan Zee Bridge.

North Carolina already claims Kitty Hawk as the rightful birthplace of aviation, and most historians recognize Orville and Wilbur’s famous feat as being the first manned powered, heavier-than-air flight.