Biographical Sketches

HOWARD ROBARD HUGHES

Born: December 24, 1905    In: Houston, TX
Died: April 5, 1976    In: Houston, TX

Howard Robard Hughes Jr, film producer, film director and aviator, studied at the California Institute of Technology, inheriting his father’s machine tool company in 1923 and developed it into a corporate conglomerate. In 1926 he ventured into films, producing Hell’s Angels, Scarface, and The Outlaw, as well as several others of lesser fame.

He began flying at age 14, showing remarkable piloting skills. He also founded his own aircraft company in the early 1930s, designing, building, and test-flying his aircraft. His first design, the H-1 racer, that established a world speed record of 352 mph in 1935 and, on Jan 19, 1937, Hughes piloted it to a new transcontinental U.S. speed record of 7h:28m:25s. In 1938 he flew a modified Lockheed 14 to an around-the-world record of 91h:17m. His most famous aircraft was an oversized wooden seaplane, nicknamed the "Spruce Goose," designed to carry 750 passengers. Completed in 1947, it flew only once over a distance of a mile as rebuttal to critics who predicted that it would never fly.

Despite eccentricities, his aviation career epitomized the courage and daring required to surpass existing limits, the technical expertise to produce innovative and vastly improved designs, and the business acumen to build a world-wide airline network with TWA. Honors included the Octave Chanute Award, the Collier Trophy, the Harmon Trophy twice, and a special Congressional Medal for his 1938 global flight. However, throughout his life Hughes shunned publicity, eventually becoming a recluse while still controlling his vast business interests from sealed-off hotel suites, which prompted endless rumors and speculations. In 1971 an "authorized’ biography was announced but its authors were imprisoned for fraud, and the mystery surrounding him continued long after his death.

Enshrined in National Aviation Hall of Fame 1973.

Denotes an individual known to have soloed an aircraft prior to December 16, 1917, whether they were members of the "Early Birds of Aviation" Organization or not.