he talks about the personal stories of wilbur and orville wright, the roles their family played as the brothers experienced failures and successes, and a time. in which they lived as the race to achieve flight was at its peak. brian: i recently picked up the washington post and

i could have known orville wright. he did not die until 1948. i would've been 15 years old.e could have been that nice old fellow around the corner. charlie: 1958? david: 1948. this is all out. you cannot imagine a more dramatic change and hugely changed horrors of warfare. he lived to see jet propulsion. he lived to see rockets. it all happened very fast wants -- once they got to the key. charlie: you said history fosters optimism in comparison to the hubris. david: yes. i feel that way. charlie: tell me what you mean. david: first of all, it shows there was no simpler time ever. and anybody who thinks that, the time that passed was very difficult and very heartbreaking and destructive. suffering of the extreme. mistakes made caused anguish of thousands of millions of people. but we came out of those dark times, we human beings. we do figure out what went wrong. and how to fix it. and we do make extraordinary improvements in the quality of life. look at what is happening in medicine here in my lifetime. unbelievable. and -- charlie: we are on the precipice of so much, it is

that's exactly what happened on december 17th 1903 when orville and will ler wright found themselves ne in kill devil hills, north carolina. from orville's initial flight of 120 feet, we have now evolved to 3.1 billion passengers flying yearly on more than 32 million flights, more than 3.6 trillion miles in total, according to the u.n.'s aviation agency. so how did it all begin? well, two-time pulitzer prize winner, david mccullough, has worked his magic again. this time on the story of the wright brothers in a new book published this week. welcome back to the show, david. >> thank you, sir, very much. it's delightful to be back. >> tell me about the times this was all happening in. the wright brothers weren't the only tinkerers or inventors. you talk about kodak and singer. >> well it was a time of productivity and entrepreneurial ingenuity and invention. it was a renaissance time in its way. it was invention of the light bulb and the telephone and the elevator and the cash register and the mousetrap and everything imaginable large and small. and there was a sense that there was no l

let alone flew an airplane again. >> orville wright would indeed fly again. p too. never married, became national heroes. wilbur died of typhoid in 1912 at age 45. orville would live until 1948 often accepting honors for what he and his brother accomplished. their lives a symbol of the power of imagination. >> what a testimony to human determination and ingeneral knew tee it is. a pound flee, profoundly american story. >> osgood: grammar police on patrol, next. >> osgood: the english language is mangled in online postings. does anybody notice? some people do as our steve hartman has discovered. >> brian henderson's story is comprised single obsession. >> comprised of. >> the misuse of the phrase "comprised of" as ax is surprised of a handle and a head. apparently it's supposed to be composed of. >> it's like fingernails on a black board when somebody uses something incorrectly. >> you a years ago in an attempt to remove this one particular sleek from the chalkboard of his life this computer engineer from san jose california, searched for every instance of "com

i could have known orville wright. he didn't die until 1948. old and he could have been that nice old fellow around the corner that was fun to talk to. >> rose: 1958? '48. >> rose: '48. and it's a fraction of time, as history goes, that this all happened. you couldn't imagine a more dramatic change and, of course, it hugely changed the powers of warfare, and he lived to see jet propulsion, he lived to see rockets, it all happened very fast once they got the key. >> rose: that's amazing. you have said that history fosters optimism in comparison to the hue brings hubris of the present. >> yes, i feel that way. >> rose: tell me what you mean. >> first of all, it shows there was no simpler time ever. anybody who thinks that doesn't understand that times past were very difficult, very heartbreaking, destructive suffering in the extreme terrific mistakes made that caused anguish of thousands of millions of people. but we came out of those dark times, we human beings. we do figure out what went wrong and how to fix it and we do make extraordinary impr

orville and wilbur wright. orville did not have the reach of mind that wilbur had. they love to music. they loved books. nathaniel hawthorne was orville 's favorite. catherine loved sir walter scott. and, as a matter fact, on one of her birthdays, her brothers gave her a bust of sir walter scott. no plumbing. no electricity, and they are giving a bust of a great english literary giant to their sister for her birthday present. there is a lot of hope in that but i think what i would like to it to know even more about was the sense of purpose that they had. it sounds like a bad pun, but high purpose not something ordinary. a big idea. we are going to achieve this big idea, and nothing was going to stop them. announcer: tonight on c-span's "q&a." announcer: former maryland governor martin o'malley officially announced his candidacy for presidency yesterday in baltimore. he becomes the third candidate to seek the democratic nomination joining hillary clinton and independent senator bernie sanders. he served two terms before leaving office in january. prior to that, he wa

. >> in 1903 when orville and wilbur wright invented the plane, they looked to birds in particular pigeons for inspiration. likewise velcro was modeled after the tiny hooks found at the end of burs. mother nature has been engineering solutions to life's problems for billions of years and now a number which new companies realize that it's time to follow her lead. copying mother nature solutions to everything from stopping bacteria to mixing water could be just the thing to lead us out of the industrial revolution and into a new one. >> considered one of the leading forefathers of bio mimicry, this company manufactures a small device that can mix 10 million gallons of water. constant mixing of purified water is essential to keep bacteria from forming. >> the reason is because a ring vortex is frictionless. any energy put into that water if you get into the flow structure, you get this enormous benefit. if we reduce the amount of energy that municipalities have to use to mix that water we're able to reduce the chemical content by 85%. >> currently, 800 municipalities are using the pax mixer.

wright brothers." >> their father always encouraged if they had some interesting project, he said stay home and do that and don't go to school. wilbur was a genius. orville was bright but he didn't have the reach of mind that wilbur had. they loved music. they loved books. hawthorne was orville's favorite writer. katherine loved sir walter scott. the brothers gave her a bust of sir walter scott. people are living in this little house in ohio with no running water, no indoor plumbing or electricity and giving the bust of a great english literary giant to their sister for a birthday present. there is a lot of hope in that. but i think what i would like to get to know even more about was the sense of purpose that they had. and sounds like a bad pun but high purpose, not something, big idea to achieve this big idea. nothing was going to stop them. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. on c-span. you are >> you're watching american history tv. follow us on twitter for information on a scheduled upcoming programs and to keep up with the latest history news. >> on american history tv, white house a story and william seale sits down for a conversation about the first lad

wright brothers." david: he would say stay home and do that, you don't have to go to school. without any question he was a genius. orville was were very bright. trevor was very mechanical but he didn't have the reach of mind . they love music. they love books. it was oracle's favorite. -- orval -- it was orvill'es favorite. here is people with no indoor plumbing, no electricity and they are given a bust of a great english literary. there is a lot of hope in that. what i would like to get to know even more about was the sense of purpose they had. it sounds like a bad pun, but high purpose. nothing was going to stop him. >> martin o'malley officially announced his candidacy for president today. he becomes the third candidate to seek the democratic nomination, joining independent senator bernie sanders. martin o'malley served two terms before leaving office in january. he was mayor of baltimore for eight years. this is 25 minutes. >> we have an announcement we would like to share with you. i want to talk to you today about the american dream. it's powerful history, its current condition. our nation on -- our nation was foun

wright brothersd." david: they did not graduate from high school because their father said if they had an interesting project they should stay home. wilbur without any question was a genius. orville was bright and inventive, clever mechanically but he did not have the reach of mind that wilbur did. they loved music, they loved books. nathaniel hawthorne was orville' s favorite writer. catherine loved sure walter scott. for one of her birthdays, her brothers gave her a bust of sir walter scott. these people living in a house in rural ohio with no running water or electricity and they are giving a bust of an english literary giant to their sister for a birthday present. there is a lot of hope in that. i think what i would like to get to know even know about -- more about is the sense of purpose that they have. it sounds like a bad pond but high purpose00 -- pun, but high purpose. we are going to achieve this big idea. >> sunday night on c-span's q&a. >> here on c-span, "the communicators" is next with a look at the proposed merger of charter communications with time warner and bright house networks. and then be campaign announcement from martin o'malley. at 8:00, commencement speec

wright brothers." >> they did not graduate from high school. his father said, if they had some interesting project, stay home. wilbur, without any question, was a genius. oracle -- orvilleas very inventive, but he did not have the reach of mind that wilbur had. they loved music. they loved books. nathaniel hawthorne was or ville's favorite writer. catherine loved sir walter scott. in fact, for one of her birthdays, they gave her a bust. think of these people living in a small house, and giving a bust of a great english literary giant to their sister for a birthday present. there is a lot of hope in that. i think what i would like to get to know even more about is the sense of purpose that they had. it sounds like a bad pun but high purpose. big ideas. nothing was going to stop them. >> sunday night on c-span's "q&a." >> jason kilar in 2007 founded the online service hulu. this year, he returned to his on the matter -- , matter to give the commencement address. [applause] mr. kilar: how is everybody doing deco before i begin, i have to capture this with a selfie. holler and we will catch a selfie. [applause] [applause] mr. kilar: ok. i will tweet that under #uncselfie. t