Tom Parramore, 71; Historian, Expert on Wright Brothers

Tom Parramore, 71, a historian, author and expert on the Wright brothers’ first flight, died Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C., nearly a month after the centennial celebration of the flight. He was 71.

Parramore had been battling a serious heart condition for several years, but died after a brief illness.

“First to Fly: North Carolina and the Beginnings of Aviation” was published in 2002 and endorsed by the First Flight Centennial Commission. Parramore pulled the book together after eight years of interviews and poring over old newspapers and records.

With his wife, Barbara, he wrote “Looking for the Lost Colony,” about a 16th century settlement on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

For 15 years, Parramore’s books were adopted as state history texts in North Carolina’s public schools.

He also was commissioned to write the history of Norfolk, Va., published as “Norfolk: The First Four Centuries.”

A native of Winston, N.C., Parramore earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught history at Meredith College in Raleigh for three decades before retiring in 1992.