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Howard Hughes
American business tycoon, entrepreneur, investor, aviator, aerospace engineer, inventor, filmmaker and philanthropist. During his lifetime, he was known as one of the wealthiest self-made people in the world. As a maverick film tycoon, Hughes gained prominence in Hollywood from the late 1920s, making big-budget and often controversial films like The Racket (1928), Hell's Angels (1930), Scarface (1932), and The Outlaw (1943).
Subsequently, he formed the Hughes Aircraft Company and hired numerous engineers and designers. He spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records, built the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 "Hercules" (better known to history as the "Spruce Goose" aircraft), and acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines (TWA), which was later acquired by and merged with American Airlines.[4] Hughes also acquired Air West and renamed it Hughes Airwest. This airline was eventually acquired by and merged into Republic Airlines (1979–1986).
Hughes was included in the Flying magazine list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation, ranking at No. 25.[5] He is remembered for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle in later life, caused in part by a worsening obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic pain.
Subsequently, he formed the Hughes Aircraft Company and hired numerous engineers and designers. He spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records, built the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 "Hercules" (better known to history as the "Spruce Goose" aircraft), and acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines (TWA), which was later acquired by and merged with American Airlines.[4] Hughes also acquired Air West and renamed it Hughes Airwest. This airline was eventually acquired by and merged into Republic Airlines (1979–1986).
Hughes was included in the Flying magazine list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation, ranking at No. 25.[5] He is remembered for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle in later life, caused in part by a worsening obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic pain.
