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Quick Facts
- NAME: Lonnie G. Johnson
- OCCUPATION: Engineer, Inventor
- BIRTH DATE: October 06, 1949 (Age: 63)
- EDUCATION: Williamson High School, Tuskegee University, W.H. Council Elementary School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Mobile, Alabama
- Full Name: Lonnie George Johnson
- AKA: Lonnie G. Johnson
- AKA: Lonnie Johnson
- Nickname: "The Professor"
- ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
Best Known For
Lonnie G. Johnson is an engineer and inventor who worked on the Cassini mission to Jupiter and invented the Super Soaker.
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Play NowLonnie G. Johnson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:33, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946.
Lonnie G. Johnson. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Lonnie G. Johnson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 10:33 http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946.
"Lonnie G. Johnson," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Lonnie G. Johnson," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Lonnie G. Johnson [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946.
Lonnie G. Johnson, http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Lonnie G. Johnson. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/lonnie-g-johnson-17112946. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Synopsis
African-American engineer and inventor Lonnie G. Johnson was born in Alabama in 1949. After graduating from Tuskegee University with a master's degree, Johnson joined the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to the Strategic Air Command, where he helped develop the stealth bomber program. His other assignments included working as a systems engineer for the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn. Johnson also created the Super Soaker squirt gun,
Contents
which became one of the most popular toys in the world.
Early Life and Education
Lonnie George Johnson was born on October 6, 1949, in Mobile, Alabama. His father was a World War II veteran who worked as a civilian driver at nearby Air Force bases, while his mother worked in a laundry and as a nurse's aid. During the summers, both of Johnson's parents also picked cotton on his grandfather's farm. Out of both interest and economic necessity, Johnson's father was a skilled handyman who taught his children to build their own toys. When Johnson was still a small boy, he and his dad built a pressurized Chinaberry shooter out of bamboo shoots. At the age of 13, Johnson attached a lawnmower engine to a go-cart he built from junkyard scraps and raced it along the highway until the police pulled him over.
Johnson dreamed of becoming a famous inventor and, during his teenage years, began to grow more curious about the way things worked and more ambitious in his experimentation—sometimes to the detriment of his family. "Lonnie tore up his sister's baby doll to see what made the eyes close," his mother later recalled. Another time, he nearly burned the house down when he attempted to cook up rocket fuel in one of his mother's saucepans and the concoction exploded.
Growing up in Mobile in the days of legal segregation and pervasive racism, Johnson attended Williamson High School, an all-black facility, where, despite his precocious intelligence and creativity, he was told not to aspire beyond a career as a technician. Nevertheless, inspired by the story of famed African-American inventor George Washington Carver, Johnson persevered in his dream of becoming an inventor.
Nicknamed "The Professor" by his high school buddies, as a senior, Johnson represented his school at the 1968 Alabama State Science Fair. The fair took place at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, where, just five years earlier, in 1963, Governor George Wallace had tried to prevent two black students from enrolling in the school by standing in the doorway of the auditorium. Johnson was the only black student in the competition. His entry was a compressed-air-powered robot, called "the Linex," that he had painstakingly built from junkyard scraps over the course of a year. Much to the chagrin of the university officials, Johnson won first prize at the State Science Fair, as well as a reward of $250 and a handsome plaque. "The only thing anybody from the university said to us during the entire competition," Johnson later recalled, "was 'Goodbye' and 'Y'all drive safe, now.'"
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Famous Black Inventors
View groupThey are among history's most revered black inventors, known for their relentless inquisition, passionate research, impeccable design and, most importantly, their desire to push the envelope. Some of the world's greatest technological and social advancements, including the modern-day gas mask, light bulb and traffic light, owe their origins to black inventors. Did you know that George Washington Carver developed more than 100 products using peanuts? Or that Madam C.J. Walker was the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire? Learn more about these inventors, as well as Lonnie G. Johnson, Garrett Morgan, Patricia Bath, Percy Julian and more, at Biography.com.
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Million-Dollar Ideas
View groupWith innovative ideas and charismatic personalities, many African-Americans have made lasting contributions to the country, while also earning millions. Oprah Winfrey emerged as a world-famous one-woman brand with her show, eventually becoming the world's first black billionaire. Robert L. Johnson started BET, the cable channel geared towards African-Americans. Athlete Michael Jordan turned into a household name through numerous endorsement deals. These people were among the first African-Americans to overcome the obstacles of discrimination and achieve top honors in their fields. With talent and determination, each one reinvented not only what it meant to be an African-American, but also what it meant to be an American.
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View groupWhen it comes to famous black scientists, George Washington Carver, Mae C. Jemison, and Neil Degrasse Tyson probably come to mind. But do you know about Otis Boykin and how he's helped old hearts beat a little better? And how about Garrett Morgan, whose inventions have kept hair straighter, clothes fitter, and traffic more efficient? Learn more about these famous black scientists and more.
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