Canards, what i really meant was ..... (I'm always saying that!).
Yes, they were on the Wright Bros flyer, before they "officially" even existed, but after that, bi-plane (and tri-plane!) and mono-plane design "settled down" to a standard configuration of main front wings, and tailplane section behind.
They "came back in" during 1950s, as a solution to supersonic stalling problems, where the airflow pattern suddenly changes while passing through Mach 1. Especially favoured by French designers on Mirage aircraft. The alternative Anglo-American solution was the delta wing, giving a gradual airflow transition across the large leading edge and surface.
As I understand it, there was a row during Concord(e)'s design. The French originally wanted canards, the Brits didn't and eventually got their way, I can't remember how this was resolved.
There's much info on Internet, some above from Channel Hopper, also for example see:
www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Theories_of_Flight/supersonic_flow/TH22.htm .
Another solution was vari-sweep wings, not a good idea:
www.pilotfriend.com/century-of-flight/Aviation%20history/evolution%20of%20technology/Variable-Sweep%20Wings.htm .
(added). I can't find any Internet refs to "Concord canards", but here's a "most excellent Concord(e) page", so party on .....
www.jameshovercraft.co.uk/concorde/ .
