Funeral Procession for Wilbur Wright, 1912

While traveling to Boston in late April of 1912, Wilbur Wright fell seriously ill, but he was not about to let a lingering illness keep him from his work.  Originally diagnosed as malarial fever, it proved to be much worse; Wilbur had contracted typhoid fever.  At 3:15 in the morning on May 30th, Wilbur passed away.  His father, Bishop Milton Wright, wrote in his diary of his son Wilbur: “A short life, full of consequences.  An unfailing intellect, imperturbable temper, great self-reliance and a great modest, seeing the right clearly, pursuing it steadfastly, he lived and died.”  Wilbur’s funeral service was held in downtown Dayton at the First Presbyterian Church on June 1st.  It was estimated that 25,000 people attended in order to pay their last respects to the fallen local hero.  As a final mark of respect, at 3:30 pm, all activity within the city of Dayton ceased and church bells rang out as Wilbur was buried next to his mother at Woodland Cemetery. Pictured here is the funeral procession for Wilbur Wright.  Only family and the pallbearers were in attendance at the graveside service.  This photograph is from the William Preston Mayfield/Marvin Christian Collection at Dayton History.

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