The Biography of Howard Hughes
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Biography of Howard Hughes Jr.
“Lights, Camera, Action!” Not only words yelled on the set by Howard Hughes, but in his life proved to have a much greater meaning. Hughes was a man destined to do great things, with his fortune, ingenious mind, and unstoppable aspirations; his dreams were never too far from reality. Many could only imagine what it would be like to walk in his shoes. But like his movies, his fairytale proved to be a lot more than money, power and women, and like most Hollywood heroes, he lived a dark life. Howard Hughes was instrumental in advancing the aviation industry; His creative and critical thinking as well as his drive made him the most successful and richest men of his time.
Born to Howard & Allene Hughes, Howard Hughes Jr. was the only child and soon to be heir to his fathers fortune. His father founded Hughes Tool Company shortly after he invented and patented the two-cone roller bit, a tool that allowed rotary drilling for oil in previously inaccessible places. He grew up very close to his mother and was greatly influenced by her. He was born and raised during a time when the polio outbreak was at its peak so she was adamant at keeping him away from becoming infected by others and would often keep him secluded from other children. Even as a child he was interested in mechanics and engineering. When he was 11 years old he erected the first wireless broadcast system in Houston. He was also known for owning his own motorized bike that he not only designed but also manufactured himself from parts he took off of his fathers old steam engine. Fascinated with aviation, he took flying lessons at the age of 14, unknown to him this would soon play a vital roll in achieving his fortune. He was a good student and showed great strength in mathematics, at one point, even rewriting the mathematics program at a prominent university. At a young age Hughes accomplished things that most men strive their whole life to achieve, and it was only the beginning to his incredible story.
Howard Hughes family was quite wealthy which enabled him to attend some of the nations finest private schools (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). Hughes was a quite and withdrawn boy and showed little interest in school other than he was good in mathematics and had a talent for building things out of junk. When Hughes was fourteen he attended the Fessenden School in West Newton Massachusetts. While home on a vacation he asked for a motorcycle and his mother refused stating it was unsafe. So he turned his bicycle into a motorcycle “by using parts from a car starter and batteries” (Tony Thomas, 2000).
September 1921 when Howard was seventeen the Hughes family moved to California, where Howard attended the Thacher Prep School. In 1922 his mother suddenly died after having minor surgery. Howard was devastated over his mothers death and never graduated high school. His father donated money to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena California, and arranged for Howard to study there (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). In 1924 Howard and his father moved to Houston Texas, where Howard attended the Rice Institute, now Rice University. Shortly after Howard turned eighteen; his father died suddenly of a heart attack. With the loss of his parents Howard became reclusive and more withdrawn, and had begun to be a hypochondriac afraid of death and of being infected with germs (Tony Thomas, 2000). Then he inherited his fathers business and wealth, and he decided to quite school and go into business.
Accomplishments:
Howard took control of the Hughes Tool Company; he was smart and hired men who could run the company for him, and the company flourished. He then could indulge himself with what he wished. In 1925 he married for the first time, and moved to Los Angeles California to pursue his film carrier (Tony Thomas, 2000).
Hughes produced multiple films from 1926-1932, one of his most famous and elaborate was in 1930 called Hells Angels. It was a film about World War I aviation, and took two and a half years to make. The production cost was about four million dollars, which was a lot of money in those days. This film was made during the depression, so even though it did well it took along time to recover the costs. His marriage how ever did not survive. He then played the Playboy seen with different movie starlets. After his last movie in 1932 he left the movie business (Tony Thomas, 2000).
In 1933 Howard started the Hughes Aircraft Company in Glendale California, and later moved it to Culver City California where it became one of the largest aircraft companies in the world (Tony Thomas, 2000). Howard made aviation history with his records such as (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008):
1934- He won the All-American Air Meet in Miami, with a Boeing pursuit plane he turned into a racer.
September 1935 he set a new speed record of 352 mph in a plane he designed.
In January 1937 he lowered the transcontinental flight-time record to 7 hours 28 minutes.
July 1938 he flew around the world in 91 hours.
May 1939 he bought stock in Trans World Airlines
1942 he designed and built a wooden eight engine plane designed to seat 750 passengers; it was nicknamed the Spruce Goose.
July 7, 1946 Howard was test piloting a plane the XF-11and it crashed into a house in Beverly Hills California. He was burned badly and almost killed.
April 1947 he test piloted the second XF-11.
August 6, 1947 Howard testified before the Senate War Investigating Committee concerning his work as a defense contractor, and he won public opinion.
November 1947- He piloted the Spruce Goose on its only flight of one mile.
1966- Howard sold TWA for $566 million dollars.
1970- He bought Air West.
Howard did not stop with just aviation; in 1948 he bought RKO Studios. His business flourished, and in 1953 he founded the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase Maryland. It was originally a tax write-off, but it has become one of the worlds biggest charities, which funds biomedical research and education (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008).
In 1957 he married for the second time, which lasted until 1971. In 1958 he had a nervous breakdown, and became continually more reclusive. In 1967 he left California for Nevada, and bought the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. The Hughes Corporation bought up huge chunks of the Las Vegas Valley and