Lonnie G. Johnson Lonnie G. Johnson was a famous man for many things. He was born on October 6, 1946 in Mobile, Al. Early in his life, he started to build things out of scraps from a junk yard. Lonnie’s father was a skilled handyman who taught his children to make their own toys and that’s basically where his passion for making toys came from. When Johnson was just 13 years old, he took a lawnmower engine and attached it to a go-kart he made from old scraps at a junkyard, and raced it up and down the highway until the police pulled him over. Johnson was a very educated man. He attended Williamson High School where he was told not to aspire beyond a career as a technician. Lonnie had a mindset that was focused on “never say that you can’t do something”. He was influenced by the story of George Washington Carver and he pursued his dream of becoming an inventor.
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Later on after that he went on to work for the U.S. Air Force and the NASA space program. High school wasn’t always easy for Lonnie. Back in his time, Williamson High School was a all-black facility because this was back in the days of legal segregation. Out of all the influences he had of not pursuing his dream of becoming an inventor, Johnson represented his school at a 1968 science fair sponsored by the Junior Engineering Technical Society. While in that competition, he presented a compressed-air-powered robot, called the Linex. He won first prize off of this
Later on after that he went on to work for the U.S. Air Force and the NASA space program. High school wasn’t always easy for Lonnie. Back in his time, Williamson High School was a all-black facility because this was back in the days of legal segregation. Out of all the influences he had of not pursuing his dream of becoming an inventor, Johnson represented his school at a 1968 science fair sponsored by the Junior Engineering Technical Society. While in that competition, he presented a compressed-air-powered robot, called the Linex. He won first prize off of this