[kiosokkn]

Whoever was first in the true sense of the word is pretty unimportant really, what matters is that the Wright brothers was the first who made that kind of flight successful in society's eyes. In the end, who cares that a Turk did the same as the Wrights two hundred years earlier, when nothing came of it?

[joanasevilyboaz]

I think there is more of a question of need. Science can discover whatever it can, and it does, but if the people/society does not see/have the need for the invention at that particular time, it will ultimately fall into oblivion.

[Uvgsgssu]

Just how satisfactory do you find the accolades given to the Wrights?

No one could have taken what he did and made useful aircraft out of it. The Wrights came up with a design that could, with further refinement, produce something useful.

[BJEugene]

I thought this was going to be about the sequel to 1632 which is aptly named 1633.

It's an alternative history book about a small town from Virginia getting teleported to Germany in 1632, right in the middle of the thirty years war.