Patrick Cunningham was an inventor from the late 19th century known for inventing a torpedo which he later fired down a high street.
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Biography
Patrick Cunningham was an Irish shoemaker who immigrated to New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Inventions
Cunningham, along with Bernard Cogan created the Iron Cunningham & Cogan whaling gun, patented in 1877.
In 1892 Cunningham built a 17 foot long torpedo capable of carrying 125 pounds of explosive; ownership of the explosive went to the company of which he was president. The torpedo did not have propellers or screws as was typical for torpedoes, but instead had spirals around its body, in order to make it spin similar to that of a bullet fired from a rifle. It was tested at the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station in July 1893, and found to be unsuitable for use due to its short range and poor trajectory.
In October 1896, towards the end of the presidential election and during festivities in New Bedford, Cunningham fired the torpedo down the city's high street. The torpedo traveled haphazardly down the street before crashing into a shop which collapsed before the explosive detonated, causing massive structural damage to the surrounding buildings. Though no-one was killed multiple people were injured in the blast. Cunningham was arrested and charged with maliciously destroying a building.
Cunningham went on to build more torpedoes, and in 1898 tested two of them by firing them from a schooner he had purchased. The first fired correctly but the second exploded inside the ship and caused it to immediately sink; no one was hurt.