The Architect: Richard Gatling

Richard Jordan Gatling (1818-1903) was born on a plantation in Hertford County, North Carolina, on September 12th 1818 (Wikipedia.com). He is an American inventor best known for his invention of the Gatling gun. His father worked on machines to sow cotton and thin out cotton plants on the plantation (britannica.com). He worked with his father to perfect the machines on the farm at an early age. At age 15 he started to work at the county clerk’s office, and by the time he turned 19 he left the county clerk’s office to teach school and become a merchant (YourDictionary.com). At the age of 21 he perfected a practical screw propeller for steamboats, only to find that a patent had been granted to John Ericsson for a similar invention a few months earlier (britannica.com). At the age of 22 he was able to successfully patent a rice planter, which was the beginning of his notoriety. He later moved to St Louis, Missouri at the age of 26, where he worked in a dry goods store and manufactured seed planters (britannica.com). He adapted the current cotton sowing machine and made it work to sow rice, wheat, and other grains. The adoption of these machines revolutionized the agricultural system in the country (britannica.com).
Gatling later became interested in medicine during the smallpox outbreak. To further advance his knowledge of medicine, he attended the Ohio Medical College. He became a doctor at the age of 32. During his studies he also invented a hemp-breaking machine (History.com). Although he had his Medical Degree (M.D.), he never practiced; he remained fixated on developing more inventions (KellerJulia). In 1857 he invented a steam plow, and later a marine steam ram in 1862 (YourDictionary.com). Later in his life, Gatling patented inventions to improve toilets, bicycles, pneumatic power, and steam-cleaning of raw wool. He was elected as the first president of the American Association of Inventors and Manufacturers in 1891, and served for six years