(December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world.
A 1941 affidavit birth certificate of Hughes, signed by his aunt Annette Gano Lummis and by Estelle Boughton Sharp, states that he was born on December 24, 1905, in Harris County, Texas.
John's Episcopal Church in Keokuk, Iowa, listed his date of birth as September 24, 1905, without any reference to the place of birth. Howard Robard Hughes Jr.
However, his certificate of baptism, recorded on October 7, 1906, in the parish register of St.
The senior Hughes made the shrewd and lucrative decision to commercialize the invention by leasing the bits instead of selling them, obtained several early patents, and founded the Hughes Tool Company in 1909.
Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness. As a film tycoon, Hughes gained fame in Hollywood beginning in the late 1920s, when he produced big-budget and often controversial films such as The Racket (1928), Hell's Angels (1930), and Scarface (1932).
After Hughes hurt himself in the late 1920s, his golfing tapered off, and after his F-11 crash, Hughes was unable to play at all. Hughes withdrew from Rice University shortly after his father's death.
He took his first flying lesson at 14, and attended Fessenden School in Massachusetts in 1921. After a brief stint at The Thacher School, Hughes attended math and aeronautical engineering courses at Caltech.
Thomas. His mother Allene died in March 1922 from complications of an ectopic pregnancy.
died of a heart attack in 1924.
Their deaths apparently inspired Hughes to include the establishment of a medical research laboratory in the will that he signed in 1925 at age 19.
On June 1, 1925, he married Ella Botts Rice, daughter of David Rice and Martha Lawson Botts of Houston, and great-niece of William Marsh Rice, for whom Rice University was named.
On September 13, 1935, Hughes, flying the H-1, set the landplane airspeed record of over his test course near Santa Ana, California (Giuseppe Motta reaching 362 mph in 1929 and George Stainforth reached 407.5 mph in 1931, both in seaplanes).
He spent the rest of the 1930s and much of the 1940s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer (1935) and H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose, 1947), the latter being the largest flying boat in history and having the longest wingspan of any aircraft from the time it was built until 2019.
Hughes won both the Collier and Harmon trophies for his achievements in aviation throughout the 1930s, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973.
On September 13, 1935, Hughes, flying the H-1, set the landplane airspeed record of over his test course near Santa Ana, California (Giuseppe Motta reaching 362 mph in 1929 and George Stainforth reached 407.5 mph in 1931, both in seaplanes).
Later he controlled the RKO film studio. Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932, hiring numerous engineers and designers.
The H-1 Racer was donated to the Smithsonian. ====Round-the-world flight==== On July 14, 1938, Hughes set another record by completing a flight around the world in just 91 hours (three days, 19 hours, 17 minutes), beating the previous record set in 1933 by Wiley Post in a single-engine Lockheed Vega by almost four days.
On September 13, 1935, Hughes, flying the H-1, set the landplane airspeed record of over his test course near Santa Ana, California (Giuseppe Motta reaching 362 mph in 1929 and George Stainforth reached 407.5 mph in 1931, both in seaplanes).
He was awarded the Harmon Trophy in 1936 and 1938 for the record-breaking global circumnavigation. In 1938 the William P.
A year and a half later, on January 19, 1937, flying the same H-1 Racer fitted with longer wings, Hughes set a new transcontinental airspeed record by flying non-stop from Los Angeles to Newark in seven hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds (beating his own previous record of nine hours, 27 minutes).
The H-1 Racer was donated to the Smithsonian. ====Round-the-world flight==== On July 14, 1938, Hughes set another record by completing a flight around the world in just 91 hours (three days, 19 hours, 17 minutes), beating the previous record set in 1933 by Wiley Post in a single-engine Lockheed Vega by almost four days.
Hughes and his crew were awarded the 1938 Collier Trophy for flying around the world in record time.
He was awarded the Harmon Trophy in 1936 and 1938 for the record-breaking global circumnavigation. In 1938 the William P.
After his around-the-world flight, Hughes had declined to go to the White House to collect it. ====Hughes D-2 and XF-11==== The Hughes D-2 was conceived in 1939 as a bomber with five crew members, powered by 42-cylinder Wright R-2160 Tornado engines.
He spent the rest of the 1930s and much of the 1940s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer (1935) and H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose, 1947), the latter being the largest flying boat in history and having the longest wingspan of any aircraft from the time it was built until 2019.
A 1941 affidavit birth certificate of Hughes, signed by his aunt Annette Gano Lummis and by Estelle Boughton Sharp, states that he was born on December 24, 1905, in Harris County, Texas.
Hell's Angels received one Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. He produced another hit, Scarface (1932), a production delayed by censors' concern over its violence. The Outlaw premiered in 1943, but was not released nationally until 1946.
A lifelong aircraft enthusiast and pilot, Hughes survived four airplane accidents: one in a Thomas-Morse Scout while filming Hell's Angels, one while setting the airspeed record in the Hughes Racer, one at Lake Mead in 1943, and the near-fatal crash of the Hughes XF-11 in 1946.
The prototype was brought to Harper's Dry Lake in California in great secrecy in 1943 and first flew on June 20 of that year.
Acting on a recommendation of the president's son, Colonel Elliott Roosevelt, who had become friends with Hughes, in September 1943 the USAAF ordered 100 of a reconnaissance development of the D-2, known as the F-11.
Only two prototypes were completed; the second one with a single propeller per side. ====Fatal crash of the Sikorsky S-43==== In the spring of 1943 Hughes spent nearly a month in Las Vegas, test-flying his Sikorsky S-43 amphibian aircraft, practising touch-and-go landings on Lake Mead in preparation for flying the H-4 Hercules.
On May 17, 1943, Hughes flew the Sikorsky from California, carrying two CAA aviation inspectors, two of his employees, and actress Ava Gardner.
In November 1944, the hangar containing the D-2A was reportedly hit by lightning and the aircraft was destroyed.
Hell's Angels received one Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. He produced another hit, Scarface (1932), a production delayed by censors' concern over its violence. The Outlaw premiered in 1943, but was not released nationally until 1946.
A lifelong aircraft enthusiast and pilot, Hughes survived four airplane accidents: one in a Thomas-Morse Scout while filming Hell's Angels, one while setting the airspeed record in the Hughes Racer, one at Lake Mead in 1943, and the near-fatal crash of the Hughes XF-11 in 1946.
Hughes sent the plane to Houston, where it remained for many years. ====Near-fatal crash of the XF-11==== Hughes was involved in another near-fatal aircraft accident on July 7, 1946, while performing the first flight of the prototype U.S.
He spent the rest of the 1930s and much of the 1940s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer (1935) and H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose, 1947), the latter being the largest flying boat in history and having the longest wingspan of any aircraft from the time it was built until 2019.
(The Hercules is no longer the longest nor heaviest aircraft ever built - surpassed by the Antonov An-225 Mriya produced in 1985.) The Hercules flew only once for one mile (1.6 km), and above the water, with Hughes at the controls, on November 2, 1947. Critics nicknamed the Hercules the Spruce Goose, but it was actually made largely from birch (not spruce) rather than from aluminum, because the contract required that Hughes build the aircraft of "non-strategic materials".
In 1947, Howard Hughes was summoned to testify before the Senate War Investigating Committee to explain why the H-4 development had been so troubled, and why $22 million had produced only two prototypes of the XF-11.
General Elliott Roosevelt and numerous other USAAF officers were also called to testify in hearings that transfixed the nation during August and November 1947.
The Hughes Helicopters division started in 1947 when [manufacturer
Since Hughes wanted to focus primarily on his aircraft manufacturing and TWA holdings during the years of the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, Hughes offered to buy out all other stockholders in order to dispense with their distractions. By the end of 1954, Hughes had gained near-total control of RKO at a cost of nearly $24 million, becoming the first sole owner of a major Hollywood studio since the silent-film era.
In 1952, an abortive sale to a Chicago-based group connected to the mafia with no experience in the industry disrupted studio operations at RKO even further. In 1953, Hughes became involved with a high-profile lawsuit as part of the settlement of the United States v.
In 1952, an abortive sale to a Chicago-based group connected to the mafia with no experience in the industry disrupted studio operations at RKO even further. In 1953, Hughes became involved with a high-profile lawsuit as part of the settlement of the United States v.
Since Hughes wanted to focus primarily on his aircraft manufacturing and TWA holdings during the years of the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, Hughes offered to buy out all other stockholders in order to dispense with their distractions. By the end of 1954, Hughes had gained near-total control of RKO at a cost of nearly $24 million, becoming the first sole owner of a major Hollywood studio since the silent-film era.
Since Hughes wanted to focus primarily on his aircraft manufacturing and TWA holdings during the years of the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, Hughes offered to buy out all other stockholders in order to dispense with their distractions. By the end of 1954, Hughes had gained near-total control of RKO at a cost of nearly $24 million, becoming the first sole owner of a major Hollywood studio since the silent-film era.
In 1968, the Hughes Tool Company purchased the North Las Vegas Air Terminal. Originally known as Summa Corporation, the Howard Hughes Corporation formed in 1972 when the oil-tools business of Hughes Tool Company, then owned by Howard Hughes Jr., floated on the New York Stock Exchange under the "Hughes Tool" name.
The Summa Corporation was the name adopted for the business interests of Howard Hughes after he sold the tool division of Hughes Tool Company in 1972.
In 1968, the Hughes Tool Company purchased the North Las Vegas Air Terminal. Originally known as Summa Corporation, the Howard Hughes Corporation formed in 1972 when the oil-tools business of Hughes Tool Company, then owned by Howard Hughes Jr., floated on the New York Stock Exchange under the "Hughes Tool" name.
Hughes won both the Collier and Harmon trophies for his achievements in aviation throughout the 1930s, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973.
(December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world.
(The Hercules is no longer the longest nor heaviest aircraft ever built - surpassed by the Antonov An-225 Mriya produced in 1985.) The Hercules flew only once for one mile (1.6 km), and above the water, with Hughes at the controls, on November 2, 1947. Critics nicknamed the Hercules the Spruce Goose, but it was actually made largely from birch (not spruce) rather than from aluminum, because the contract required that Hughes build the aircraft of "non-strategic materials".
In 1988 Summa announced plans for Summerlin, a master-planned community named for the paternal grandmother of Howard Hughes, Jean Amelia Summerlin. Initially staying in the Desert Inn, Hughes refused to vacate his room, and instead decided to purchase the entire hotel.
He was included in Flying magazine's 2013 list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation, ranked at 25.
He spent the rest of the 1930s and much of the 1940s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer (1935) and H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose, 1947), the latter being the largest flying boat in history and having the longest wingspan of any aircraft from the time it was built until 2019.
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