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JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1999 91(4):306-309; doi:10.1093/jnci/91.4.306
© 1999 by Oxford University Press
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Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 91, No. 4, 306-309, February 17, 1999
© 1999 Oxford University Press

NEWS

Hughes' Unexpected Legacy: A Thriving Research Enterprise

Nancy Volkers

When Howard R. Hughes, Jr., died in 1976, he left behind many legacies, including The Spruce Goose, Hughes Tool Company, the 1930 film Hell's Angels, and status as the nation's first billionaire. He also left the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which began in 1953 and metamorphosed over the next 45 years into the nation's largest private philanthropy for medical research and science education.

According to Purnell Choppin, M.D., president of HHMI for more than a decade, Hughes' interest in medical research may have begun in his teens, when his parents died prematurely. Hughes indicated in an early will that his estate would go to medical research. In 1951, he began supporting research by writing personal checks to a handful of physician-scientists. Two years later, he founded the institute.



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  		Dr. Purnell Choppin

 
"He took part of the Hughes Tool Company, named it the Hughes Aircraft Company, and gave it . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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