CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
AFRICAN-AMERICAN INVENTORS
Lonnie George Johnson (born October 6, 1949) is an American inventor and engineer who holds more than 80 patents. He holds more than 80 U.S. patents, but it’s his invention of the Super Soaker toy that is perhaps his most endearing claim to fame. An engineer by training, Johnson has worked on both the stealth bomber project for the Air Force and the Galileo space probe for NASA, as well as developed means of harnessing solar and geothermal energy for power plants. But it’s the Super Soaker toy, first patented in 1986, that is his most popular invention. It’s racked up nearly $1 billion in sales since its release.