Born & Raised: Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was born in Houston, Texas on,
December 24, 1905, to Allene (Gano) Hughes (died March 29, 1922) and
Howard Robard Hughes, Sr., (died January 14, 1924). Hughes Sr. built his
fortune after founding the Hughes Tool Company which sold patented drill
bits to the oil industry
.The Young Man: Hughes failed to finish high school. Though he showed an
avid interest in math and things mechanical, he had no interest in the
rest of the subjects. He audited classes at Cal Tech and was enrolled at
Rice until his father died in 1924. He inherited a fortune and the Tool
Company and married Houston socialite Ella Rice, a marriage that lasted
four years. Due to a prior association with his uncle Rupert Hughes, a
writer for Samuel Goldwyn's movie studios, Howard began a career in
movie making.
The Aviator: Hughes earned his pilot's license in 1930 while shooting
his movie, "Hell's Angels", (the most expensive movie of the era) about
WWI aviators. In 1932, he formed the Hughes Aircraft Company division of
Hughes Tool. The company designed and built racing planes which Hughes
tested and flew to set new speed records in the 1930s. As WWII
approached, the company geared to design military planes, however, only
the 'Spruce Goose', the largest plane ever built, was finished, and that
after the war.
Las Vegas Visionary: Hughes moved to Las Vegas in 1966. He had been a
frequent visitor to the town prior to that. A year later, he began to
build an empire in the desert. He bought four hotels and six casinos
through his company, Summa Corporation, and acquired thousands of acres
of land in the Las Vegas Valley. He was limited by government fears that
he might monopolize the area's lodging industry. In seclusion at the
Desert Inn, with Robert Maheu as his alter ego, he eventually lost
control of his business affairs.
The Ghost: In 1970, Hughes left Las Vegas in very poor health. He died
in 1976 enroute to Houston. But, a very influential man had invested
heavily in Las Vegas, and many would do the same because of him. The
'mob' was almost 'bought out' by him. Much of the Valley's land was
still owned by his companies. Summerlin was the surname of his
grandmother and the 20,000+ acre community is a show place of the city.
A 1200 acre park near Red Rock will soon be a gift to us from him. His
shadow still looms.
Born & Raised: Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was born in Houston, Texas on,
December 24, 1905, to Allene (Gano) Hughes (died March 29, 1922) and
Howard Robard Hughes, Sr., (died January 14, 1924). Hughes Sr. built his
fortune after founding the Hughes Tool Company which sold patented drill
bits to the oil industry