Howard R. Hughes Sr.

Howard Robard Hughes Sr. studied engineering and worked as a wildcatter in Texas and Louisiana before partnering with oilman Walter B. Sharp. Working from a prototype using two cone-shaped cutters, the pair tested a dual-cone roller rock bit on a rig at Goose Creek, Texas, and Hughes was granted U.S. patents on August 10, 1909. The bit crushed hard rock instead of scraping it and changed the economics of rotary drilling. Sharp died in 1912, Hughes acquired his stake, and the business was renamed Hughes Tool Company in 1915. The commercial approach was to lease the bits and defend the patents rather than sell the tools outright.

Howard Robard Hughes Sr. (September 9, 1869 to January 14, 1924) founded Hughes Tool Company. Born in Missouri, he studied engineering and worked the Texas and Louisiana oil fields before going into partnership with Walter B. Sharp. Together they developed the first commercially successful two-cone roller drill bit, tested in secret at Goose Creek, Texas, and patented on August 10, 1909. The bit made rotary drilling practical in hard formations and became the industry standard. After Sharp died in 1912 Hughes bought out his partner stake and renamed the company Hughes Tool Company in 1915. The business generated the fortune his son Howard Hughes Jr. later put into aviation, film and real estate. Hughes Sr. died in 1924; the company he left merged with Baker International 63 years later to form Baker Hughes.

Education: Harvard University; Iowa State University. Howard R. Hughes Sr. was born in 1869.