Howard Robard Hughes Jr.
was an American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist, and pilot. He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.
Hughes in 1938
Hughes in April 1912
Hughes' house
Hughes on the cover of Time magazine, July 1948 (with the Hughes H-4 Hercules in the background)
Eccentricity is an unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with normal behavior, the nearly universal means by which individuals in society solve given problems and pursue certain priorities in everyday life. People who consistently display benignly eccentric behavior are labeled as "eccentrics".
Madame de Meuron, a Swiss eccentric with her characteristic ear trumpet and hat
Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled as dictator of Turkmenistan from 1991 to 2006, was known for imposing his personal eccentricities upon the country.
Evidence of whimsically eccentric behavior: large cabbage leaves purposefully and humorously placed on a neat row of traffic cones in the Dovercourt neighborhood of Toronto.