In 1958, Hugh O'Brian returned from Africa highly inspired by his visit with Dr. Albert Schweitzer.   Later that year, while portraying the legenday lawman Wyatt Earp on televison, Hugh O'Brian decided to make his own contribution to society by establishing the Hugh O'Brian Youth Foundation (HOBY).   Since that time, HOBY has motivated tens of thousands of young people to realize their leadership potential by conducting annual seminars on a variety of subjects which focus around the theme of "America's Incentive System."

During the years 1958 to 1967, leadership seminars took place in Los Angeles, California, for students from that area.

In 1968, HOBY developed its annual, week-long "World Leadership Congress", formerly called the "International Leadership Seminar".   Today more than 220 sophomores, representing every state and approximately 25 countries, have the opportunity to interact with nationally recognized leaders from various fields.

Since 1977, the foundation has been involved in the development of Leadership Seminars throughout the country so that more high school sophomores may experience high-level leadership exposure on a state basis.  

From only five weekend Leadership Seminars in 1977 with 346 students, HOBY now serves over 14,000 students annually and conducts appproximately 90 seminars.