Richard Gatling Fact Sheet: Who was Richard Gatling? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of Richard Gatling.

Richard Gatling Fact File: Lifespan: 1818 - 1903 *** Full Name: Richard Jordan Gatling *** Occupation: American Inventor *** Date of Birth: He was born on September 12th 1818 *** Place of Birth: He was born in Herford County, North Carolina, USA *** Family background: His father was planter in North Carolina and were prominent in their area and very comfortably off *** Early life and childhood: He grew up in North Carolina, USA *** Education: He began his education at home with private tutors

Richard Gatling Fact 1: He was born during the 19th century a time when great innovations were happening in the worlds of industry, technology and science.

Richard Gatling Fact 2: Taking after his father in the area of mechanical engineering by the time he was twenty one years of age he had designed his first invention, a screw propeller to be used on ships. Unfortunately he had already been invented, but he would not be dissuaded.

Richard Gatling Fact 3: During his time in North Carolina he made a living by working in the county clerk’s office.

Richard Gatling Fact 4: Thereafter he became a teacher for a brief time followed by becoming a merchant.

Richard Gatling Fact 5: From there he moved to St Louis, Missouri, when he was thirty six years of age and worked in a dry goods store.

Richard Gatling Fact 6: His next project was in the nature of a machine that planted wheat, rice and various other types of crops.

Richard Gatling Fact 7: With the production of these machines the agricultural industry thrived.

Richard Gatling Fact 8: Having contracted the condition smallpox his interests turned towards medicine.

Richard Gatling Fact 9: In 1850 he was awarded an MD having attended Ohio Medical College and graduating but he never actually practiced medicine.

Richard Gatling Fact 10: Still more interested in inventing he was living in Indianapolis, Indiana, when the Civil War broke out.

Richard Gatling Fact 11: It was at this point his interests turned to weaponry.

Richard Gatling Fact 12: It would be in 1862 that he first patented his rapid fire machine gun. The capabilities of this gun were staggering, with six rotating barrels and cartridges fed into it automatically, it fired an astounding 200 rounds a minute.

Richard Gatling Fact 13: It would next be mounted onto a two wheeled carriage and the next generation of gun would have ten barrels.

Richard Gatling Fact 14: Although the Union Navy to delivery of several Gatling guns the Army was far more conservative in their approach to such weaponry and very few went into service.

Richard Gatling Fact 15: By 1865 he had developed a new and improved model and the Army would start using it the following year at which time the Civil War was nearly over.

Richard Gatling Fact 16: It was said the number of casualties was high enough, Lord new how high they would have been if the Gatling gun had gone into mass production at that time.

Richard Gatling Fact 17: In 1870 the gun did go into manufacture in Hartford, Connecticut by the company of Colt.

Richard Gatling Fact 18: Eventually sales were made around the globe to the Turkish and Japanese, the Russians and Spanish and the French and British.

Richard Gatling Fact 19: Eventually he would be elected as the first President of the American Association of Inventors and Manufacturers and would serve in this position for six years from 1891.

Richard Gatling Fact 20: Although he had made his way back to his home town to live, it would be on a trip to New York to visit with his daughter that he died in his sleep on February 26th 1903. He was laid to rest in Indiana at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Influence & Legacy: Although he will be remembered for the invention of a machine capable of killing thousands upon thousands of people in its near fifty years history, he was however also the inventor of other life enhancing items.

Important Events of the 18th century and during the life of Richard Gatling include: George IV became King of England, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die on the 50th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence

List of Famous Works by Richard Gatling:
*** A screw propeller *** A wheat drill *** A hemp break machine *** A steam plow *** A motor driven plow ***