Jack Cover

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Jack Cover (born April 6, 1920 in New York City as John Higson Cover , † February 7, 2009 in Mission Viejo ) was an American scientist and inventor of the stun gun (taser).

Jack Cover grew up in Chicago , where he also earned his bachelor's degree and doctorate in physics from the university there . During the Second World War he was a test pilot for the US Air Force . From 1952 to 1964 Cover worked as a scientist at North American Aviation and then at IBM and Hughes Aircraft .

Cover began in the 1960s with the development of the Taser , which was supposed to enable safe defense against hijackers. The inspiration for this came from the fall of a person who fell into a power line and was therefore motionless for a short time; Cover, on the other hand, chose the name Taser based on the young adult book Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle by Victor Appleton from 1911, in which u. a. the idea is developed to stun people with balls of electricity.

In 1970 Cover founded Taser Systems Inc. to develop and market his stun gun , and in 1972 he applied for a patent for the Taser . The Los Angeles police, however, showed little interest in the 1970s, and it wasn't until 1980 that he was able to convince them with an 11-watt model. Nevertheless, the marketing was slow, and so Cover had to give up his company in the end.

In 1993, the brothers Tom and Rick Smith showed an interest in Cover's invention and developed it further so that the weapon became a compressed air weapon instead of a powder-powered firearm , which ultimately helped it achieve its breakthrough.

Jack Cover was married three times and had four children with his third wife.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ independent.co.uk: Jack Cover: Inventor of the Taser stun gun , March 2, 2009
  2. ↑ a b Los Angelese Times, Jack Cover dies at 88; scientist invented the Taser stun gun , Feb. 13, 2009
  3. ^ The New York Times, Jack Cover, 88, Physicist Who Invented the Taser Stun Gun, Dies , Feb. 16, 2009
  4. ↑ Free Patents Online, WEAPON FOR IMMOBILIZATION AND CAPTURE - United States Patent 3803463 , accessed July 29, 2009
  5. ^ Times Online, John Cover: inventor of the Taser , Feb. 24, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Cover, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cover, John Higson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 2009
Place of death Mission Viejo