On this day in 1938, Howard Hughes set the new speed record. Hughes was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world. He gained prominence from the late 1920s as a maverick film producer, making big-budget and often controversial films like Hell's Angels, Scarface and The Outlaw. Hughes was one of the most influential aviators in history: he set 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. Hughes is also remembered for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle in later life, caused in part by a worsening obsessive–compulsive disorder (Wikipedia).
Fun Factoids:
- Hughes developed the half-cup bra. Thanks a lot, Howard.
- Between July 7th and 14th, 1938 he cut Lindbergh's flying record from New York to Paris in half.
- In his later reclusive years, Hughes allegedly stored his own urine in large bottles. Hmmm...
- Hughes never graduated from high school.
For more reading on Hughes, check this one out:
by Richard Hack
Published by New Millenium Press, 2001
444 pages
Summary in a Sentence:
Contains excerpts from journals, memos, and personal letters that chronicle the life of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.
2 comments:
I really need to buckle down and read a book on Hughes. He's just a fascinating guy all around. Well, maybe except that urine thing.
I knew the urine part but not about the bra. What an interesting man. :)
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