[2] During the early morning hours of July 6, 1932, Reynolds died of a gunshot wound to the head following a party on the family estate of the Reynolda House.

The final plan included two kitchens, three dumbwaiters, an elevator, fourteen bathrooms, a telephone in each room and an Aeolian Company pipe organ featuring four keyboards and a pedal footboard.

The village had its own post office, two churches, two schools and a model farm to exhibit and innovate the latest practices in agriculture, horticulture and livestock production.

"[22] Smith's brother Dick dropped out of North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering after two semesters to move to New York City.

The Reynolds brothers would practice takeoffs and landings on the 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) front lawn of the Reynolda bungalow and perform tricks in the air to terrify their sisters Nancy and Mary.

[31] On August 1, 1928, at age 16, Smith earned a private pilot's license, attested to by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and personally signed by Orville Wright.

[33] Smith's biggest achievement as an aviator was the longest point-to-point solo circumnavigation at the time, at 17,000 miles over land, lasting from December 1931 to April 1932.

The journey began in London and ended in Hong Kong; in between, flying over territories including the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Syrian Desert and India.

[34] Smith began preparing for the flight in spring of 1931, buying a Savoia-Marchetti S.56 biplane built by American Aeronautical Corporation in Port Washington, New York.

Flying over poorly charted land, he often navigated only by following railroads, rivers, coastlines or landmarks seen on a road map,[38] as seen in an example from the log: So after some time getting the motor started, I took off for Rome.

I had been a bit worried because my throttle was loose and the motor also seemed to be burning too much gasoline...[39]Smith's flight was not recorded in popular aviation history.

Landing in Chanchiang revealed engine damage that would prevent the plane from operating without extensive repairs; as such, Smith made it to Hong Kong by catching a ride on an oil ship.

The marriage quickly deteriorated; at the annual society Christmas party at the Robert E. Lee Hotel in Winston-Salem, Smith and Anne got into a fight.

In April 1930, Smith went to see Wiman's touring company of The Little Show in Baltimore and was dazzled by star Libby Holman and her performance, including her signature song "Moanin' Low".

'"[50] Holman's friends disliked Smith's brooding attitude but tolerated him as he paid for visits to nightclubs, speakeasies and mixings with New York's elite.

"[53] Smith continued to follow Libby in his plane, behaving increasingly erratically: in summer of 1930, he rented a cottage nearby Carpenter's house, with whom Holman was staying.

After one particular row, Smith flew west and passed the remaining summer in California and Colorado, though still continued to call Holman regularly on the telephone.

[59] At one point, after Smith allegedly came across Holman and Carpenter together, he angrily sped off in his Rolls-Royce roadster, drove it off a four-foot retaining wall and crashed into the ocean.

"[61] On the opposite side of the spectrum, Smith also showered Libby with affection: once, he flew a low-flying plane over the Sands Point house, dropping rose petals by hand along the cottage's private walk to the beach.

Police reports describing any of these incidents were never filed; furthermore, Holman claimed he was petrified of kidnappers before the time that the Lindbergh kidnapping had gripped the national public consciousness.

[63] On August 26, 1931, Smith had his Savoia-Marchetti plane hauled aboard the Cunard liner RMS Berengaria and sailed to Southampton, then flying to London, to begin his 1931 round-the-world flight.

Walker reported during the inquest that he heard the gunshot while downstairs, and immediately afterwards Holman had run to the balcony and shouted, "Smith's killed himself!"

However, William Neal Reynolds, Smith's uncle, told the district attorney that the family believed the death was a suicide and that they supported dropping the charges; the prosecutor eventually did so for lack of evidence, and no trial was ever held.

For if Libby was the richest woman in the world (becoming richer as the men in her life died off,) also celebrated and honored with special friendships, the specter of violence tracked her from the start.

Bradshaw relates from interviews with still-living friends that Holman called them on the telephone in a panic: "She told Louisa [Carpenter] that the Reynolds family were being horrible to her, almost as though they suspected that she had something to do with Smith's demise.

[75] The former Miller Municipal Airport was renamed in 1942 after the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation gave funds for its expansion and modernization, allowing it to increase commercial service.

After the highly publicized legal proceedings resulting in her gaining a portion of her father's inheritance, she was referred in the press as possibly "the richest baby in the world."

In response they hired full-time Pinkerton agents who lived in a detached bedroom on the lower floor of the Blowing Rock estate, accompanying Anne outside the house even on play-dates with other children.

[81] In 1967 she founded the Anne C. Stouffer Foundation, which gave full-ride scholarships to black students to attend and integrate elite boarding schools.

The foundation famously provided a significant grant supporting Martin Luther King Jr's 1959 trip to India to study the nonviolent tactics of Mahatma Gandhi[89][90] Multiple films have been inspired by the events of Reynolds' life.