• Introduction and About the Exhibit
• Acknowledgements
• Rights and Reproductions
• Coming to America
• Engineering
• Accomplishments
• Aeronautics
• World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
• Spreading the Word
• The Next Step
• Building and Testing Gliders
• Lilienthal-Type Machine
• Katydid
• "How Does it Feel to Fly?"
• The Experiments Continued
• 1896 Chanute-Type Biplane
• Would Be Aviators Contacted Him
• The Wright Brothers
• The Last Major Article by Chanute
• Highlights from Aviation History
• Space

World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago

Among the many curious novelties presented to the world at the great Chicago Exhibition of 1893, was an “International Conference on Aerial Navigation” and its occurrence makes a modern step in engineering science. -W. Pole, 1896.

During the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Chanute chaired the International Conference on Aerial Navigation. Invitation letters were sent to those persons in various parts of the world who were known to be experts or students in the field of aeronautics. Forty-seven papers were selected to be presented, with ample time for discussion. Approximately 100 people attended the various conference sessions. Most of the papers were published in the “Proceedings” and the newly created journal “Aeronautics”.

As a result of these efforts and good publicity, the subject of aeronautics was put firmly into the hands of engineers and scientists.

	Patent 132,022, W.F. Quinby "Flying Apparatus". Patented Oct. 8, 1872. Poster designed by Barbara Kern. Image courtesy of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
	Progress in Flying Machines, by Octave Chanute, 1894.
	Progress in Flying Machines, by Octave Chanute, 1894.

Flights Before the Wrights: Octave Chanute, Chicago aeronautical pioneer, engineer, teacher

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