John T Daniels

John Thomas Daniels, Jr. (July 31, 1873 – January 31, 1948) was the amateur photographer who took the photograph of the Wright brothers' first flight on December 17, 1903. He was also a member of the Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station, and his cousin was North Carolina Senator Melvin Daniels.

Daniels later said that he was so excited by seeing the Flyer rising that he nearly forgot Orville Wright's instructions to squeeze the bulb triggering the shutter. Of the photos taken during their 1903 stay in Kitty Hawk, this is one of the clearest, including a photo of the more dramatic third flight that was found to be blurry when processed.

Daniels had never seen a camera prior to using the Gundlach Korona view camera with a 5-by-7-inch glass-plate negative to take the famous photo. The plate was not developed until the Wright brothers returned to Ohio. The camera was owned by the Wright brothers, who were careful to record the history making moment, and also to preserve a record for any future patent claims.

The Wright brothers made four flights that day; three were photographed: the first, third and fourth. After the Flyer was hauled back from the fourth flight, a powerful gust of wind caught it. Daniels grabbed a strut in an attempt to hold down the aircraft, but he was caught between the wings as the Flyer flipped end over end. Daniels was not seriously hurt, but the Flyer was destroyed with even the engine block split in half. Daniels would tell the story of the day he "survived the first airplane crash" for the remainder of his life. Daniels died January 31, 1948, one day after Orville Wright's passing.