Many of the fabulously rich today do good works with charities. Howard Hughes had his own idea of important contribution: he flew. Holding a fascination with the skies, he made an Academy Award-winning film about fighter pilots, at the same time earning his pilot’s license. Then he decided to test just how fast he could fly.

On this day, January 19, 1920, Hughes set a record, flying in his own factory-designed H-1 racer from Burbank, California to LaGuardia Airport in New York in just under 7 ½  hours – not too far from the time it takes to travel that distance now.

The flight broke a previous record also set by Hughes. Not content, he then decided to break a speed record between continents, and flew the same route that Lindbergh flew 11 years earlier in 11 hours fewer. For his many contributions to aviation he was awarded a Congressional Medal and a ticker-tape parade.