Claim: Howard Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1937 by Ben Howard, an American aviator and engineer, who bought his first bi-plane at the age of 18.
Evidence: 1937 Ben Howard Benjamin Odell Howard (February 4, 1904 – December 4, 1970), was an American aviator and aeronautical engineer, whose aircraft won the Bendix Trophy and the Thompson Trophy in 1935. By 18 he had saved up enough cash to buy an OX-5 powered Standard biplane.