Gerald Bull
| Gerald Bull | |
|---|---|
Gerald Bull at the Space Research Institute, McGill University (Montreal), 1964
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| Born |
March 9, 1928 North Bay, Ontario |
| Died | March 22, 1990 (aged 62) Uccle, Brussels, Belgium |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Fields | Ballistics |
| Institutions |
McGill University Canadian Armament and Research Development Establishment Space Research Corporation |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Thesis | Investigation of the aerodynamic characteristics of an intermittent supersonic wind tunnel (1951) |
| Doctoral advisor | Gordon Patterson |
| Known for |
Weapons development Project HARP Project Babylon |
| Spouse | Noemi "Mimi" Gilbert (1954–1990; his death); 7 children |
Gerald Vincent Bull (March 9, 1928 – March 22, 1990) was a Canadian-American engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece, to which end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government. Bull was assassinated outside his apartment in Brussels, Belgium in March 1990.
Bull was born in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, to George L. Toussaint Bull, a solicitor, and Gertrude Isabelle (née LaBrosse) Bull. George Bull was from a family from the Trenton area and had moved to North Bay in 1903 to start a law firm. As a Roman Catholic, LaBrosse would have been forbidden from marrying Bull, an Anglican. Bull converted to Catholicism on February 20, 1909, and the two married three days later. Over the next few years the couple had 10 children: Bernice Gwendolyn Florence, Henry, Philis, Charles Esmond, Clyde, Vivian, Ronald, Frank, Gerald, and Gordon.
George Bull was offered the position of King's Counsel in 1928. The family was well off, but the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and ensuing Great Depression dramatically changed their circumstances. Within a year the loans Bull had taken to buy stocks on margin were called in, and the family was forced to move to Toronto to look for work.
The next year Gertrude Bull suffered complications while giving birth to her 10th child, Gordon. She died April 1, 1931. George Bull suffered a nervous breakdown and fell into heavy drinking; he left his children in the care of his sister Laura, who fell victim to cancer and died in mid-1934. The next year, banks foreclosed on the family home. The same year, George, at the age of 58, met and married Rose Bleeker. He gave up the children to various relatives: Gerald ending up living with his older sister Bernice.
In 1938, Gerald was sent to spend the summer holidays with his uncle and aunt, Philip and Edith LaBrosse (Philip was the younger brother of Gerald's mother, Gertrude). During the Depression, Phil and Edith had won about $175,000 in the Irish Sweepstakes, and were relatively well off. Gerald was sent to an all-boys Jesuit school, Regiopolis College, Kingston, Ontario. Although too young to attend, the school allowed him to start in 1938 and he returned to spend the summers with the LaBrosses. During this time he took up the hobby of building balsa wood airplanes of his own design, and was a member of the school's modeling club. He graduated in 1946.
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