Born in 1832, he was the diminutive
son of a French immigrant to New
Orleans. He began a successful
career in railroad construction at the
Hudson River Railroad in Ossining,
New York, as a chainman on a
survey team. A self-taught engineer,
he became a legend for his novel
designs and construction of complex
bridges, railroad terminals, and use
of unusual construction materials.
His work on the preservation of
building materials led to his invention
of the system for pressure-treating
rail ties and telephone poles with
creosote, a technique still in use
throughout the world.
By the time he was forty-one years
old, he was chief engineer of the Erie
Railroad. Later as chief engineer of
Illinois Central, Chanute relocated to
Chicago, where he would live the
rest of his life. He platted several
communities while working for the
railroad, including Chanute, Kansas.
Chanute's interest in flight began
shortly after his move to Chicago.
But he was a professional engineer,
and (more often than not) people
interested in flight were simply
considered crazy. He kept his
interest to himself for the time being.
The Wright brothers taught the world
to fly—without question—but who
taught the Wrights how to fly? To a
very considerable extent, Octave
Chanute, a French-born, Chicago-
based engineer, did. His personal
investigations into the problems of
flight measurably advanced
knowledge about powered flight in
the 1890s, and he shared that
knowledge with the Wrights as they
undertook the research that led to
their successful 1903 test flights. The
brothers corresponded with Chanute
throughout their preliminary
research, seeking his counsel and
incorporating his ideas into their
designs for an airplane. Chanute
even visited the Wrights at Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina, while they
were testing their planes.
His two-room suite features one
queen bed, 13.5" heavenly bed
pillowtop mattresses, leather couch,
armoire, 27" TV, VCR and DVD
player, 20" TV, desk, chair,
refrigerator, microwave, coffee,
green tea, hot chocolate, microwave,
bottled water, Andes chocolates,
popcorn, private bathroom with
shower, and all the other standard
features of our Suites.
This Suite rents for $79 per night
with a 10% discount for AAA and
AARP members. Extended stays are
welcome.
Chanute Kansas Hotel Tioga Suites Octave Chanute Room
