Kites were invented thousands of years ago and have
Been used in war, for fishing, as a navigation tool, and
as a means of escape. We often think of kites as toys,
but their history has led to many discoveries and inventions.
Benjamin Franklin
In 1752, Benjamin Franklin began studying the atmosphere using kites. This lead to kites being used in meteorological work, which continued for 150 years until the work was taken over by airplanes. In June of 1752, Franklin conducted an experiment and proved that lightning is electricity.
Homan Walsh
In 1847, the people of the city of Niagara Falls decided a bridge spanning the gorge would boost the economy. They had the technology to build a bridge, but they couldn't figure out how to get the first line across the gorge. The steep cliffs, rapids, and winds hindered any conventional methods. They finally decided that if someone could fly a kite across the gorge they could get the first line in. People tried and failed until a 10-year-old named Homan Walsh succeeded.
Wright Brothers
Wilbur and Orville Wright are credited with inventing the airplane in 1903. The Wright brothers were also skilled in kite flying and riding. The Wright brothers were flying kites at Kitty Hawk when they discovered the kites provided enough lift to pull a man off the ground. It was their knowledge and skill with kites that directly led to the invention of the airplane.
Alexander Graham Bell
Everybody knows Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but he also experimented with early flying. In 1908, five years after the Wright brothers first flight, Bell was the first to fly the skies over Canada.
Paul Garber
Kites were used for military purposes in their earliest history. In 1942, Lieutenant Commander Paul E. Garber was a naval officer assigned to make aircraft recognition models. Garber had been flying kites since he was five. One day he made a kite and challenged a gun crew to use it as a target, the experiment led to improved shooting and Garber continued to build kites for target practice. He also used kites to pass important papers from ship to aircraft. Garber became the first director of the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum.