Howard Hughes Medical Institute records

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute was started in 1953 by industrialist and aviator Howard Hughes and the scientists and physicians he consulted as advisors. The Institute funded its own laboratories and research through the Hughes Aircraft Company. After Hughes’ death in 1976, management of the Institute passed to a board of trustees. In 1985, the Aircraft Company was sold to supplement the endowment. Although it originally intended to be a research institution and not a funding source, by this time, HHMI typically employed scientists to conduct biomedical research through laboratories at host institutions, which now number more than 60 nationwide. Since 1987, HHMI has supported graduate students, select professors, and education institutions through its science education program. The Institute began in Miami, Florida but is now located in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Hughes was born in Humble, Texas, and died on a plane en route the Houston’s Methodist Hospital. He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery.