Verified

Lonnie G. Johnson

Nuclear engineer, Galileo mission veteran, inventor of the Super Soaker

At a glance

Inventor: Lonnie G. Johnson
Life: b. 1949
Birthplace: Mobile, Alabama
Country: United States
Region: United States
Era: 1950–2000
Fields: Science & Engineering, Space & Aerospace
Evidence: Verified
Records: 1 in this archive

What they did

Johnson worked on the Galileo Jupiter mission's power systems at JPL, and, while experimenting with a heat pump using water instead of freon, patented the pressurised water gun that became the Super Soaker.

Historical context

Existing water pistols were feeble squirt toys. Johnson's insight was to pressurise a reservoir rather than pump each shot.

The legacy

One of the best-selling toys ever made; Johnson reinvested the royalties into thermo-electric energy conversion research.

The evidence

US Patent 4,591,071 — Squirt gun
Patent record · United States Patent Office
Lonnie Johnson inductee record
Institutional record · National Inventors Hall of Fame