This poem came out of the July 16, 2019 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. "A Brief History of Flight" From the dawn of time, humankind looked up and envied the birds. As the years went on, people made gliding toys and kites to ride the wind, but still remained earthbound. In 1783, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier built the first hot-air balloon. It went up alone, then with animals, and finally people. For the first time, humans could look birds in the eye at altitude. In 1896, Orville and Wilbur Wright began exploring heavier-than-air flight at their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. In 1902, they took their glider for many successful flights along the beach at Kitty Hawk. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane on that same beach. But the quest for flight was not without its casualties. In 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic in an airplane, riding with pilot Wilmer Stultz. In 1932, she went on to make a nonstop solo transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to do so. During an attempt to fly around the world in 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific without a trace, and no one ever knew why. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut to orbit the Earth. For the first time, man had gone where even the birds could not go. * * * Notes: The history of flight includes kites and lighter-than-air balloons . The first heavier-than-air flight happened in 1903. Amelia Earhart was a famous pilot. Manned spaceflight began in 1961.