Lonnie Johnson
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Lonnie Johnson was born in Alabama in 1949 to a nurse’s aid and a World War II veteran. From an early age, Johnson showed interest in how things worked. He was notorious for taking things apart to figure out what made them function, like his sister’s dolls to see how they blinked. The other children in his neighborhood dubbed him “the professor.” In high school, he represented his school at a science fair, where he was the only Black student in attendance. At this point in time, the presence of African Americans in science was little to none. He ended up taking home first place for a robot powered by compressed air.
In 1973 Johnson received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and his master’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1975. After university, he worked for the U.S. Air Force and then NASA in their Jet Propulsion Lab. In addition to his contributions surrounding space crafts and developing power sources, Johnson also invented the Super Soaker and Nerf Gun. The patent he had for a “pneumatic launcher for a toy projectile” that he created revolutionized toy blasters that children play with to this day.
Lonnie Johnson had invented the Super Soaker (initially named the Power Drencher) in 1989, but in 2013 it was discovered that he was being underpaid royalties for his invention. Fortunately, he won the suit against the company producing the toys and was appropriately compensated for his work.
Today, Johnson resides in Georgia and is working on ways to make green energy more affordable through his company, Johnson Research and Development Co.
