A Tormented Soul

Kathleen Hanser cuts through the mental health issues and eccentricities of billionaire Howard Hughes to outline his achievements as a passionate aviator and pioneering aircraft manufacturer

Howard Hughes makes final preparations for what was the first and only flight of the H-4 Hercules on November 2, 1947. Note his hallmark white tennis shoes.
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When Howard Robard Hughes Jr was a child, it wasn’t apparent he was destined for greatness.

Born sometime in late 1905 in Houston, Texas, it was said he was very timid, unsociable and indifferent as a child. Like many of that era, there is no official birth certificate.

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