High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Octave Chanute (February 18, 1832, Paris – November 23, 1910, Chicago, Illinois) was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine. Chanute lies buried in Springdale Cemetery, Peoria, Illinois.