Patrick Cunningham (4 May 1844 – 23 May 1921), known locally as "Wild Cunningham", was an Irish inventor known for creating a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

which he fired down a

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

high street during the 1896 presidential elections.

Biography

Cunningham immigrated to New Bedford, Massachusetts from

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, Ireland at the age of nine. He trained with his father to become a

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who Shoemaking, repairs, and sometimes makes, shoes Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * The Cobbler (1923 ...

, but joined the

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were un ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, where he became interested in engineering and explosives. He deserted the Navy in 1865 and returned to New Bedford, where he established a shoemaking business. His charge of desertion was removed from his record in 1892. Cunningham's cobbling business was very successful, and he became one of New Bedford's most wealthy residents.

Inventions

Cunningham, along with fellow cobbler Bernard Cogan, created the ''Iron Cunningham & Cogan''

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

gun, patented in 1877. In 1892 Cunningham built a 17-foot-long torpedo named ''The Flying Devil'', 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. On October 31, 1896, towards the end of the presidential election, Cunningham fired the torpedo down New Bedford's high street during a rally for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate, who he did not support. The torpedo travelled haphazardly down the street and crashed into a shop, which collapsed before the explosive detonated, causing massive structural damage to the surrounding buildings. Multiple people were injured in the blast, though no-one was killed. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Patrick Irish emigrants to the United States New Bedford, Massachusetts 19th-century American scientists 1844 births 1921 deaths Union Navy personnel Deserters