Aviation Pioneer. Born in Illinois, he was an auto mechanic when he began working at Wilbur and Orville Wright's bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, in 1901. As the brothers began spending more time flying a glider they had built, Taylor machined many of the parts for the Wrights' 1902 glider. When the Wrights wanted a 12-horsepower gas engine to power their first biplane, Taylor used his own brand of precise technical excellence to machine the parts and built the engine. On December 17, 1903, Taylor's gas engine powered the Wright Flyer, which Orville piloted on the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air human flight.
Aviation Pioneer. Born in Illinois, he was an auto mechanic when he began working at Wilbur and Orville Wright's bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, in 1901. As the brothers began spending more time flying a glider they had built, Taylor machined many of the parts for the Wrights' 1902 glider. When the Wrights wanted a 12-horsepower gas engine to power their first biplane, Taylor used his own brand of precise technical excellence to machine the parts and built the engine. On December 17, 1903, Taylor's gas engine powered the Wright Flyer, which Orville piloted on the first controlled, powered, heavier-than-air human flight.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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