Howard Hughes poses in front of the his record setting Northrop Gamma Monoplane in this 1930s photo. Hughes broke his first aviation record in the Gamma when he made the west-east American transcontinental run in 9 hours, 26 minutes, and 10 seconds. View photo »

A young Howard Hughes stands next to his H-1 racer airplane in this 1930's photo. The H-1 was the first aircraft produced by Hughes Aircraft Corporation and Hughes would set the world airspeed record and break his own American transcontinental speed record in the H-1. View photo »

Howard Hughes sits in the cockpit of his prototype XF-11 reconnaissance plane in preparation the plane's maiden flight on July 7, 1946. The flight would end disastrously as Hughes ended up crashing the XF - 11, suffering third-degree burns, a crushed collarbone and 24 broken ribs as a result of the accident. View photo »

Howard Hughes stands below the second prototype of his XF-11 reconnaissance aircraft in this 1947 photo. The USAF declined to pick up the XF-11 project due to the difficulties involved in flying the plane, and the high cost of manufacturing it. View photo »

One of the world's wealthiest and most powerful individuals came to Las Vegas under the cover of darkness during Thanksgiving weekend 1966. By the time he left Nevada on Thanksgiving 1970, Hughes had become the state's largest private employer, largest casino owner, largest property owner and largest mining claims owner. Hughes was influential in sweeping the mob out of controlling Vegas casinos and helping the Nevada Legislature pass the Second Corporate Gaming Act. View photo »

Howard Hughes raises an eyebrow at cameras during a headshot taken on Oct. 3, 1947. The UNLV College of Engineering is named in his honor, despite the fact he never paid the university all of the money he promised. View photo »

Robert Maheu is pictured in this 1960s portrait. Despite the fact that Maheu was one of Howard Hughes most trusted advisers and even sometimes played the role of Hughes himself, he only communicated with the reclusive billionaire through memo or by telephone. View photo »

This is the front page of the Las Vegas Sun from Feb. 10, 1975 featuring a story on bugging by Howard Hughes. It describes an affidavit by a former CIA agent who said bugs were placed in an attempt to put Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in a compromising position in a Las Vegas hotel and phone taps on former Gov. Grant Sawyer, then Gov. Mike O'Callaghan and Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun. View photo »

Rip Torn employs all the details made public at Howard Hughes' death in his portrayal of the reclusive billionare in this Feb. 9, 1979 photo. Torn dons Hughes' old flight helmet and silk scarf for a return to Las Vegas--which Hughes once called "sacred ground. View photo »