Rupert Hughes

Rupert Raleigh Hughes (January 31, 1872 – September 9, 1956) was an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer. He was the brother of Howard R. Hughes Sr. and uncle of billionaire Howard R. Hughes Jr. His three-volume scholarly biography of George Washington broke new ground in demythologizing Washington and was well received by historians. A staunch anti-Communist, in the 1940s he served as president of the American Writers Association, a group of anti-Communist writers.

Early life Hughes was born on January 31, 1872, in Lancaster, Missouri, the son of Jean Amelia (née Summerlin; 1842–1928) and Judge Felix Moner Hughes (1837–1926). He spent his early years in the Lancaster area until age seven when the family moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where his father established a successful law practice.

Hughes first published a poem while still a child growing up in Lancaster. After receiving his basic public education in Keokuk and at a private military academy near St. Charles, Missouri, he attended Western Reserve Academy preparatory school in Hudson, Ohio.

Some of Hughes' most notable early writing involved music. His American Composers (1900), Love Affairs of Great Musicians (1903), Songs by Thirty Americans and Music Lovers' Cyclopedia (1914) were all well received by the public and critics alike. Containing a spring-loaded blade that extended via push-button, it was similar to what would later be considered a "switchblade". The Hughes Trench Knife was evaluated as a potential military arm by a panel of U.S. Army officers from the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in June 1918. After testing, however, the board found the Hughes design to be of no value, and it was never adopted. Hughes remained on active duty until mid-1919, meanwhile continuing his writing career in off-duty hours. His second marriage, to actress Adelaide Manola Mould Bissell, took place in 1908. She starred in his stage production All for a Girl that same year.