2-377-974 - Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images

American aviator Glenn Curtiss making his first heavier-than-air flight in his 'June Bug', 1908. On 4 July 1908 at Hammondsport, New York, Curtiss (1878-1930) won a $25,000 prize for being the first aviator to make a public flight of more than a kilometre. The Wright Brothers had made several flights in 1903-1905, but without the presence of official witnesses.