• 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

Coming to America

Octave Alexandre Chanut was born on 18 February 1832 in Paris, France. When his father Joseph Chanut accepted a position as Vice-President and History Professor at Jefferson College, just north of New Orleans in the fall of 1838, he took his son along to the New World.

In 1854 he became an American Citizen, Americanized his name by adding the letter “e” to his family name and dropping his middle name. He became Octave Chanute.

	Poster designed by Barbara Kern. Photo courtesy the Chanute family.
	Photo: Octave Chanute, 1856. Original photo in the Chanute family possession, Denver, CO. Courtesy the Chanute family.
	Annie Riddel James Chanute, married to Octave Chanute, 12 March 1857. The photo was probably taken at that time. Original photo in the Chanute family possession, Denver, CO. Courtesy the Chanute family

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

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