This week in Christian history: Mayflower Compact signed; Wright brothers’ father born; John Marrant arrives in Canada

Bishop Milton Wright, father of Wright Brothers, born – Nov. 17, 1828

This week marks the anniversary of the birth of Milton Wright, a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, who was the father of the Wright brothers, who are credited with building the first successful motor-powered airplane. 

A native of Rush County, Indiana, who had a born-again experience at age 15, Wright was baptized in the United Brethren in 1848, licensed to preach in 1850, and ordained in 1856.

Milton served as a missionary to the Western United States, then editor of the United Brethren periodical The Religious Telescope, before being elected a bishop in 1877.

Milton weathered years of ideological conflict within the denomination between Radical and Liberal factions, which led to a schism in 1889. He retired from ministry in 1905.

Milton had married Susan C. Koerner in 1859. The couple had seven children, two of whom, Orville and Wilbur, would go on to make the first controlled, powered flight on Dec. 17, 1903, in North Carolina.