Guide Note

Howard Hughes was a Texas-born aviator, industrialist and Hollywood producer, and an enormously wealthy man. His companies built experimental aircraft including some related to space exploration.¹ His life has been the inspiration of several recent movies including The Aviator, The Hoax, and Iron Man.

Fast Facts

1. Born: December 24, 1905, Houston, Texas²
2. Died: April 5, 1976³
3. Spouses: Ella Rice (married June 1, 1925, divorced 1929), Jean Peters (married 1957, divorced 1971)²
4. Romantically connected with: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Ava Gardner, Cyd Charisse⁴
5. Inherited Hughes Tool Company⁴
6. Founded Hughes Aircraft Corporation, 1932¹
7. Set many aviation records, including a world speed record of 332 mph in 1935¹
8. Planes designed: Silver Bullet, Spruce Goose¹
9. Owned controlling interest in Trans World Airlines (TWA)⁴
10. Founded Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1953⁴
11. Controlled RKO Pictures between 1948 and 1953⁵
12. Hughes Aircraft was investigated by the U.S. Senate in 1947 for mismanagement of an aviation project, but the case was dropped when Hughes delivered the XF-11 photoreconnaissance plane¹
13. Formed Hughes Space and Communications Company in 1961¹
14. His chief of staff Robert Maheu had a role in the CIA's plot to kill Fidel Castro, aided by organized crime²
15. His mental decline during the last few years of his life has been well-documented⁴

Hell's Angels, The Front Page, Scarface, The Outlaw

The Aviator | Jane Russell | The Hoax Katharine Hepburn | Iron Man