Howard Hughes

Photo of Howard Hughes (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) speaking before the Press Club in Washington, D.C., July 21 1938.

This photo is of Howard Hughes speaking before hundreds of government officials and representatives of foreign governments at a luncheon that was held in his honor.

He spoke about his visions of a future in aviation where giant flying boats, almost as large as (then) modern ocean liners, would fly the Atlantic under conditions in which the "element of luck would play no part". He described in detail the type of flying craft and equipment he believed the future would see but which was back then an aeronautical engineers dream.

Of course, it turns out this billionaire was right - just look up the AN-225 Mriya


Photograph taken by photographers Harris & Ewing. Photo is courtesy of the Library of Congress.