Who Was Really the First to Fly?

Although mainstream historians credit the Wright brothers with being the first to conduct a sustained, controlled flight of a manned, powered aircraft, there are a number of other early aviation pioneers with claims to the same feat. In addition to the Wrights, I've found at least seven other pioneers with credible claims to the title of first to fly, some dating back nearly a decade before the success of the Wright Flyer in December 1903. Gustave Whitehead is just one of these innovators, though his claim is probably stronger than most. Let's take a brief look at each of these pioneers and their contributions to the development of flight.