There's a whole slew of people who supposedly had powered flight before Orville and Wilbur did. Brazil even had a mention of it in their Opening Ceremony of the Summer Games in 2016, one Alberto Santos-Dumont...Interesting controversy.
Of course, there were lots of things about flight that were sketchy back in the early days of flight, and a LOT of it took place here in California - Hughes Aircraft, Ryan Air, General Dynamics, Northrop, Boeing, Lockheed - all building planes that went on to be work horses and military flight that expanded on.
If you ever have a chance to go to Disney's California Adventure, Soarin' Over California has some plaques inside the entrance to the ride with some historical figures of aviation, from the first African American Aviator, to Amelia Earhart, to Burt Rutan and his experimental planes. It's really kind of interesting and fascinating - but it's small potatoes compared to the Air and Space Museum in San Diego, which has a LOT more, like the predecessor to the SR-71, the Lockheed A-12, out on display outside of the museum.