“One cannot view Hughes without seeing his seedier side, but in the 1930s he was a pioneer and an American hero. Few would have believed that Howard Hughes was destined for such a tragic life.” Howard Robard Hughes was born December 24, 1905 in Humble, Texas to Howard Robard Hughes and Allene Gano. His father was business man and owned an oil equipment industry firm. His mother was a Dallas heiress. Hughes lived an isolated life being moved around to multiple private schools. His parents were incredibly protective and kept him under their watchful eye the majority of the time. He was especially excellent in math, golf, and physics. Allene died during a surgery when Hughes was 16 year old and not long after his father died from a heart attack. Hughes was a freshman in college taking courses at California Institute of Technology at age 18 and made the decision to drop out and take over his father’s oil company also inheriting 1 million dollars. Eventually he realized his father’s company didn’t need his help anymore so he moved to Hollywood to pursue making films. In 1924 he married Ella Rice, but that marriage was not meant to be and they were divorced not long later in 1929. He was involved with a few actresses, but none of those relationships lasted long either. He never had any kids. He became incredibly popular in the movie making industry, though some other film companies weren’t as fond of the newbie taking their fame. Some of his most admired films are Hell’s Angels, Scarface, and The Outlaw. As his career excelled he invested in the RKO pictures corporation in 1948. In the 1930s he started an aircraft firm and tested and built airplanes. He mastered many records in his flights including flying around the world in 91 hours in 1938, making a plane that went 352 mph, and creating one of the largest planes in that time period with a wingspan of 319 feet and 11 inches. He was awarded the Harmon International trophy for his speed record in 1937. His most famous plane was called Spruce Goose and could hold 750 passengers and Hughes flew it only one time getting it 1 mile and 70 feet off the ground. He bought TWA stock in 1939 and due to not going to court when there might have been illegal charges he later was forced to sell it in 1966 for 546.5 million dollars. When he left TWA he slowly began to vanish from the population. He avoided taxes which led to him gaining a lot of money. In 1953 he created a medical institute used as a tax-shelter. “In the eyes of many, he was a lone hero fighting against the intrusion of federal bureaucracy and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In the eyes of the government, he was a tax cheat. He spent a great amount of time in Las Vegas gambling and purchasing Vegas hotels, Airways, and radios leading to him receiving 1 billion dollars at the end of the decade. He married actress Jean Peters in 1957 and they divorced in 1971. He went from being an American aviator and icon in the 1940s to a hermit moving around continents only being seen by his male attendants. He chose not to engage with the public. “He became a billionaire Hermit.” He was deathly afraid of germs and diseases, something he’d inherited from his mother. He was scared of his surroundings and would go to unusual places. As the years progressed he became anorexic and he spent his time with Mormons and only traveled at night. His hair and nails grew to unhealthy lengths and he stopped taking care of himself. He did not like watching television shows and he would often only eat one meal a day, never exercising. He died April 5, 1976 from kidney failure on a plane heading to a hospital in Houston, Texas. Multiple wills were located, but all were proved to be forged, so 60% of his estate went to the IRS and the rest was divided between 23 of his living relatives. To some Howard Hughes was a scam and a lunatic, but to many others he was an American champion who never took no as an answer and persevered his entire life.
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