Jack Cover

John Higson Cover Jr. (April 6, 1920 – February 7, 2009) was an American aerospace scientist who was the inventor of the taser stun gun.^[1]

John Higson Cover Jr.
Born	John Higson Cover (1920-04-06)April 6, 1920 New York City, U.S.
Died	February 7, 2009(2009-02-07) (aged 88) Mission Viejo, California, U.S.
Other names	Jack Cover
Known for	Taser inventor
Spouse	Ginny
Children	5

Biography

Jack Cover was born in New York City on April 6, 1920, and grew up in Chicago.^[1] His father was a professor of economics. His mother earned a mathematics master's degree at the University of Chicago.^[2] Cover earned a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in nuclear physics at the same university,^[1] studying under Enrico Fermi.^[3] During World War II, he was an Army Air Force test pilot. He later worked at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. He was a scientist at North American Aviation from 1952 until 1964 and also worked for NASA^[3] (Apollo program), IBM and Hughes Aircraft.^[1]

In 1970, he formed Taser Systems, Inc., named for a Tom Swift novel about the Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle. Because the Taser used gunpowder to launch the darts, the federal government considered it a firearm, a classification that ruled out a civilian market and also discouraged police and military sales.^[1]

Private life

Cover was married three times, the first two ended in divorce. His last marriage was to Ginny. He had five children, two sons and three daughters.^[2] He had Alzheimer's disease, and died of pneumonia on February 7, 2009, at the Golden West Retirement Home in Mission Viejo, California.^[1][2][4]

Patents

• U.S. patent 3,803,463 July 10, 1972; Weapon for Immobilization and Capture

See also

• Cattle prod
• Robert J. Kleberg (King Ranch)