February 16: Traian Vuia presents to the Academy of the Sciences of Paris the possibility of flying with a heavier-than-air mechanical machine, but it was rejected for being impossible, receiving the response, “The problem of flight with a machine which weighs more than air cannot be solved and it is only a dream.” Traian Vuia would later take his first flight on a very short, 12-meter flight, on March 18, 1906.

March 23: The Wright brothers file a patent request for a powered flying machine based on the second (modified) version of their 1902 glider successfully tested at Kill Devil Hill.

June 6: After several stationary stability trials, Ferdinand Ferber makes the first full trial of his glider No.6. It fails to take off in Nice, France.

September 25: The Wright brothers arrive at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to begin tests of their 1st powered aircraft.

November 12: The 1st fully practical airship, the Lebaudy, makes a successful flight in Paris, France. The 190-foot-long airship flies 38 ½ miles and achieves a speed of 25-mph.

December 14: Wilbur Wright makes the first and unsuccessful attempt at powered flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. His aircraft stalls after 3 ½ seconds in the air and crash-lands 105 feet away.

December 17: Orville Wright makes the first sustained, controlled, powered flight in the Flyer airplane at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The historic first flight lasts 12 seconds and covers 120 feet.