A member of Center Lodge 23 in Indianapolis, he invented a screw propeller for steamboats, a rice sewing machine, a wheat drill and various items which improved the operation of toilets, bicycles, steam cleaning machines and pneumatic devices. But Dr. Richard Gatling (1818 – 1903) is remembered almost exclusively for a single invention. It was a rotating barrel, rapid fire gun which bears his name: the Gatling gun. Dr. Gatling was a physician who never practiced medicine, but invented the deadly weapon for the sole purpose of SAVING lives. He felt the existence of such a destructive gun would reduce the need for large armies and save lives caused by the destruction of war and its accompanying diseases.
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