Happiness starts at home.
Rack your brain with me here. You may know the name Howard Hughes Jr. He was one of the most influential and richest people in the world during his lifetime. He was the inspiration for Tony Stark. Yes, Iron Man. He was the son of another successful businessman, Howard R. Hughes Senior, who was born here in northeast Missouri and lived part of his life in the Tri-State area. Here's our Hagan Zinnaker on the man that would bring alive the Hughes legacy and become woven into the fabric of Americana. Born to judge Felix Turner Hughes and Jean Amelia S The others being Greta, Felix Jr. and Rupert. During their time in northeast Missouri, Howard developed a reputation for being mischievous and a little wild. He was rather in and out of trouble at times according to some of the doc One of the stories I have is that he And he one time was holding cockfights out behind the house even though his father had expressly forbidden it. And his brother Rupert told on him. After reading law to the area, Felix Hughes would move to Keokuk, finding success as a lawyer. Howard initially planned to follow in his father's footsteps but was encouraged to do his own thing. The children were encouraged to be their own people, to do whatever they wanted. And while Hughes Sr. was kind of trying to please his father by going to law school, the father didn't put a lot of pressure on him. And it is written that whenever Hughes Sr. decided to leave home, that Felix was actually quite relieved. It was this mentality along with natural talent that allowed the Hughes children to succeed. Rupert and Howard as well as Greta and Felix, the youngest child that survived, were all incredibly talented. Greta was a world famous opera singer as was Felix. Then Rupert was a prolific author. He wrote, we have 52 vol He wrote screenplays, he was into photography. He was quite a renaissance man, if you will. And then there's Howard, who was just an incredible mechanical genius, is what I how I would describe him. Alongside Walter Sharp developed and patented the two-cone rotary drill bit that revolutionized well drilling. With this, Hughes' fortune would be set, allowing his only son, Howard Jr. , to become one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the world during his time. Reporting from Lancaster, I'm Hagan Zinnaker. Well, you can find a more detailed journey on Howard Hughes' life after he left Northeast Missouri and more in the article over on our website.
