Lonnie G. Johnson was born in Alabama in 1949.
He earned his master's degree in nuclear engineering from Tuskegee University.
he went on to work for the U.S. Air Force and the NASA space program.
After tinkering with the invention of a high-powered water gun, Johnson's Super Soaker became a top-selling item by the early 1990s.
He has since been developing the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter (JTEC), an engine that converts heat directly into electricity.
Super Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun that utilizes manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols
The Super Soaker was invented in 1982 by African American engineer Lonnie Johnson.
The prototype combined PVC pipe, acrylic glass, and an empty plastic soda bottle.
Originally sold by Larami and now produced by Hasbro under the Nerf brand, Super Soaker has generated more than $1 billion in total sales.
The first Super Soaker went on sale in 1990 and was originally called the Power Drencher, or the "Shaw" because of its ability to shoot straight and narrow.
Credits:
Created with images by Graham S Dean Photography - "Water guns (04)" • Graham S Dean Photography - "Water guns (04)"