How did Howard Hughes learn about engineering?

Howard R. Hughes Sr. attended Harvard University for one year, but dropped out. He then attended Law School at Iowa State University, but apparently did not finish that program before completing the Bar Exam anyway. read more

In 1953, Hughes launched the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Miami, Florida (currently located in Chevy Chase, Maryland) with the expressed goal of basic biomedical research, including trying to understand, in Hughes' words, the "genesis of life itself," due to his lifelong interest in science and technology. read more

His father owned a company called Hughes Tool Company in Houston, and Howard Jr. returned to take over the business after both his parents died while he was in college. He attended two colleges, the California Institute of Technology and Rice University, and was very good at engineering. read more