Howard Robard Hughes

Background

Hughes was born in Houston, Texas, the only child of Howard R. Hughes Sr., an inventor and businessman, and Allene (Gano) Hughes. His father founded Hughes Tool Company after patenting a rotary-drilling bit used in petroleum extraction. Hughes's uncle was writer and filmmaker Rupert Hughes. His family ancestry included English, Welsh, and French Huguenot roots, and he was related to aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright through a shared ancestor.

As a boy in Houston, Hughes built a radio transmitter and a motorized bicycle. He was interested in mathematics, mechanics, and flying, and took his first flying lesson at fourteen. His mother died in 1922 and his father in 1924; he inherited most of the family fortune and assumed control of his affairs as a young adult. He was an enthusiastic golfer in his twenties, but injuries later curtailed his play. After his father's death he left Rice Institute and moved to Los Angeles, where he pursued filmmaking and aviation.

Education

Hughes attended Fessenden School in West Newton, Massachusetts, and Thacher School in Ojai, California. Fessenden was a preparatory school in Massachusetts, while Thacher was a college-preparatory school in California. In 1921 he attended Fessenden School.

He took mathematics and aeronautical engineering courses at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, an institution known for scientific and engineering education and research. He also attended Rice Institute in Houston, later Rice University, but withdrew shortly after his father's death. His studies and personal interests in engineering accompanied his subsequent work designing and testing aircraft.

Career

Hughes entered the motion-picture business in the 1920s, financing and producing films in Hollywood. His first production, Swell Hogan, disappointed him, and he ordered the film destroyed; subsequent productions, including Everybody's Acting and Two Arabian Knights, were successful. He went on to produce The Racket, Hell's Angels, The Front Page, Scarface, and The Outlaw. The films included major productions and works that attracted attention for their violence or clashes with censorship. He later produced and financed additional films, including Jet Pilot, whose release followed years of further editing and delays.

Hughes's aviation work combined piloting, aircraft design, and business. In 1932 he founded Hughes Aircraft Company, initially to build the H-1 Racer. In 1935 he flew the H-1 to a landplane speed record of 352 miles per hour, and in 1937 used it to set a transcontinental record from Los Angeles to Newark. In 1938 he completed a record-setting round-the-world flight in a Lockheed 14 Super Electra with a four-person crew. The flight brought him wide public attention and the Collier and Harmon trophies. His aircraft projects included the D-2, XF-11, and H-4 Hercules. The XF-11 crashed on its first test flight in 1946, leaving him severely injured; he flew its second prototype in 1947. The H-4, designed as a large transport flying boat during the Second World War, made a single brief flight in 1947.

Hughes Aircraft grew from an aircraft-design operation into a major aerospace and defense contractor, developing aircraft, helicopters, radar, missile systems, electronics, and other technologies. The company worked within the expanding American aviation and defense industries of the Second World War and postwar period. In 1953 Hughes transferred his interest in the company to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a charitable organization established to support biomedical research.

Hughes also became a major figure in commercial aviation. He acquired a controlling interest in Trans World Airlines (TWA), an American airline, and influenced its aircraft purchases and route development. The airline's growth included long-range aircraft and transatlantic service. Financial disagreements surrounding jet-aircraft orders and management led to his loss of control, and he sold his TWA shares in 1966. He acquired control of Northeast Airlines in 1962 and later sold it to a trustee. In 1970 he acquired Air West, a regional airline formed by the merger of western United States carriers, and renamed it Hughes Airwest.

In 1948 Hughes gained control of RKO, one of Hollywood's major film studios. He reduced production, exercised close control over the studio's films and contracts, and sold it in 1955 while retaining rights to films he had personally produced. RKO's Hollywood operations belonged to the major-studio system, which combined film production, distribution, and theater interests. Hughes also pursued real estate and hotel ownership, particularly in Las Vegas. After purchasing the Desert Inn in 1967, he acquired several other hotels, casinos, and local television stations. His holdings made him one of Nevada's major employers and gave him substantial economic influence in the state.

The oil-tools business founded by his father became part of the corporate holdings Hughes controlled. When that business was separated from the remaining interests in 1972, the latter adopted the name Summa Corporation. Hughes's business activities also included a role in the financing of aircraft programs and a partnership with industrialist and film producer David Charnay. In the early 1970s the CIA used Hughes's name and company resources as a cover for a covert effort to recover a sunken Soviet submarine; Hughes and his companies did not take part in the operation itself.

During his later years, Hughes lived increasingly out of public view, moving among hotels and residences in several cities and eventually spending much of his time in the Bahamas. His physical condition deteriorated after multiple aircraft accidents, including the severe 1946 crash, and chronic pain affected his daily life. He died aboard an aircraft while being transported from Mexico to Houston. An autopsy identified kidney failure as the cause of death.

Achievements

• Hughes set multiple aviation records, including a 1935 landplane speed record, a 1937 transcontinental record, and a 1938 round-the-world flight record.

• He designed and developed record-setting aircraft, including the H-1 Racer, and pursued major aircraft projects such as the XF-11 and H-4 Hercules.

• Hughes established Hughes Aircraft Company, which grew into a major aerospace and defense contractor.

• He established the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and transferred Hughes Aircraft shares to it in 1953, creating a substantial source of support for biomedical research.

• As an owner of hotels, casinos, real estate, and media businesses in Nevada, Hughes became a major employer and influential business figure in the state.

Works

• film

  • Two Arabian Knights

    (Film produced by Hughes that achieved financial success a...)

    1927

  • Hell's Angels

    (Hughes produced and directed this aviation film, a costly...)

    1930

  • Mad Wednesday

    (A completed film transferred from United Artists to RKO i...)

    1947

  • Jet Pilot

    (Produced by Hughes; filming and editing extended over sev...)

    1957

  • Swell Hogan

    (Hughes's first film production; after judging the result ...)

    1926

  • Scarface

    (Hughes produced this crime film, whose release was delaye...)

    1932

  • Vendetta

    (Film produced by Hughes and among the completed works tra...)

    1950

  • The Outlaw

    (Produced by Hughes; it premiered in 1943 and received nat...)

    1943

  • The Conqueror

    (Film made in connection with Hughes's business partnershi...)

    1956

  • The Front Page

    (Film produced by Hughes; it received Academy Award nomina...)

    1931

  • The Racket

    (Film produced by Hughes and nominated for an Academy Award.)

    1928

  • Everybody's Acting

    (Film produced by Hughes; it achieved financial success.)

    1926

  • The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

    (Film associated with Hughes's production interests.)

    1947

  • Macao

    (Film associated with Hughes's production interests.)

    1952

  • Son of Sinbad

    (Film associated with Hughes's production interests.)

    1955

  • Underwater!

    (Film associated with Hughes's production interests.)

    1955

  • His Kind of Woman

    (Film made with Hughes as executive producer.)

    1951

  • Sky Devils

    (Film associated with Hughes as a producer.)

    1932

  • Behind the Rising Sun

    (Film associated with Hughes as a producer.)

Interests

• Hughes was interested in aviation, aircraft engineering, radio technology, and golf. He built a radio transmitter as a boy and was a licensed amateur-radio operator. He played golf frequently in his twenties and later gave it up after injuries.

• Sport & Clubs

  Golf

Connections

Hughes was the son of Howard R. Hughes Sr. and Allene (Gano) Hughes and had no siblings. He married Ella Botts Rice in 1925; they separated and divorced in 1929. In 1957 he married actress Jean Peters. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1970 after they had lived apart for years. Hughes was also publicly associated with several well-known actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Gene Tierney. His uncle Rupert Hughes was a novelist, screenwriter, and film director.

Father:

Howard R. Hughes Sr.

Inventor and businessman who founded Hughes Tool Company after patenting a rotary-drilling bit.

Mother:

Allene (Gano) Hughes

Wife:

Ella Botts Rice

Married Hughes in 1925; their marriage ended in divorce in 1929.

Wife:

Jean Peters

Actress who married Hughes in 1957; they divorced in 1970.

Uncle:

Rupert Hughes

Novelist, screenwriter, and film director.

References

• Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel Book by Darwin Porter about Hughes's life and career.
  2005
• The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History Book by Josh Dean about the covert recovery operation involving the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 and Hughes's role as cover.
  2017
• Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness Biography by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele about Hughes's life and business career.
  2004
• Congressional Gold Medals 1776-2002 Stephen W. Stathis's historical reference work documents the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Hughes.
  2003
• Enfant Terrible: The Times and Schemes of General Elliott Roosevelt Chris Hansen's book on Elliott Roosevelt and the period includes material relevant to Hughes's aviation projects.
  2012
• Film Noir FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Hollywood's Golden Age of Dames, Detectives, and Danger David J. Hogan's reference work on Hollywood film noir and its history.
  2013
• Encyclopedia of Television Horace Newcomb's reference work on television history.
  2014
• Hughesworld: The Strange Life and Death of an American Legend Arelo C. Sederberg's book about Hughes's life and death.
  2013
• Me: Stories of My Life Katharine Hepburn's autobiography, which includes recollections relevant to her association with Hughes.
  1991
• Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet Samuel Clemens's biography of actress Pat Sheehan, documenting aspects of Hollywood and Hughes's social connections.
  1987