Weapons History Made on February 26, 1903

On this day in 1903 Ricahed Jordan Gatling passed away. Gatling was the inventor of the Gatling gun, the first operating machine gun. He was born in North Caroline and held many different jobs: fisherman, court clerk, teacher, and storekeeper. Gatling Gun Company was founded in 1862. His inspiration for the machine gun came from seeing so many Civil was soldiers return from battle injured by sickness and disease not gunshots. He thought if he could event a gun that could do the work of a hundred guns he could cut the amount of exposure the soldiers had to endure. Thus the hand crank Gatling gun. Unfortunately in 1911 the US Army announced the gun was obsolete. Gatling invented new tools all his life and was named the first president of American Association of Inventors and Manufacturers. He died a wealthy despite his bad investments. Today the tern gatling gun is still used to describe the menacing rapid fire weapon.