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Lonnie Johnson

Inventor

Birthday October 6, 1949

Birth Sign Libra

Birthplace Alabama

Age 75 years old

#30,768 Most Popular

Numerology: 3

About

Most famous for inventing the popular Super Soaker water gun toy, he went on to patent seven dozen other products, including the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System, which made Popular Mechanics' 2009 list of the year's ten most important inventions. He eventually tweaked the Super Soaker design, creating what would become Nerf guns.

Before Fame

After earning his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and his master's in nuclear engineering from Tuskegee University, he worked on the United States Air Force's stealth bomber and on NASA's Galileo Jupiter mission.

Trivia

He established energy-based technology companies called Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (or JEMS) and Excellatron Solid State. He was awarded 73 billion dollars by Hasbro in a lawsuit revolving around Super Soakers and Nerf guns.

Family Life

He was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama.

Associated With

Johnson and MGA Entertainment toy company C.E.O. Isaac Larian both contributed to the development of extremely popular toys (Larian's company produced Bratz dolls).