Hughes After Howard – The History of Hughes Aircraft Company

People everywhere have heard of the eccentric Howard Hughes, but few know that in 1953 he virtually disappeared from the company he had begun in 1932. Under new, creative, and inspired management, Hughes Aircraft Company became the leading military electronics organization in the world and rose to 85,000 employees.

Some called it a national treasure. In this new 496-page book, Hughes Aircraft Company’s past president Ken Richardson shows how this was done. Collaborating with over sixty past employees, Ken has compiled this remarkable piece of American aviation history. Learn about many complex products in all fields of electronics crafted by this highly motivated, inventive team.

Below is a lecture by the Author Presented at the Museum of Flight in Seattle WA. Ken discusses Hughes Aircraft Company after Howard Hughes left its helm in 1953. Ken Richardson rose through the ranks of the Hughes Aircraft during his forty-year career there, from a radar design engineer to President and Chief Operating Officer. Richardson’s new book looks beyond the legend of the company’s famous leader, to focus on how the company grew to 85,000 employees and the leading military electronics organization in the world.

Testimonials

“This book fully describes the evolution of a relatively obscure firm in California into what many proclaimed was the world leader in military electronics.”
—Dr. Simon Ramo, Co-Founder of TRW Inc.

“Howard Hughes and his brainchild, the Hughes Aircraft Company, laid the technological foundation for American success in prevailing in and ending the Cold War.”
—Tom Reed, former Secretary of the Air Force

“Richardson ably recounts the development of many of the technologies, and indeed, historians, engineers, and scientists . . . but for most readers, they are likely to be distractions from the entertaining anecdotes interspersed throughout the book.”
—Peter Pae, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times by Peter Pae

About The Author

Ken Richardson, raised in Hawaii, earned three university degrees in engineering and business administration. He began at Hughes Aircraft Company as a radar design engineer, and in forty years of service, rose to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer, working with a team of more than 85,000 employees creating products in every field of advanced electronics technologies.