The Wright brothers invented and flew the fist airplane in 1903, recognised as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight. Between 1867 and 1896, the German pioneer of human aviation. The Douglas aircraft company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Willis Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to from McDonnell Douglas. Douglas aircraft company largely operated as a division of McDonnell Douglas (MD) after the merger. MD later merged with Boeing in 1997.