His ideas were stolen from him, hence he never got recognized as the inventor, all due to the coloúr of his skïn.What a World we live in.

"Eugene Burkins (1877-1929), a native of New Orleans; was living with his father in Chicago in 1900 when he patènted the Burkins Automatic Machine Gùn. Although it performed to the high standards set by the military, he was unsuccessful in selling it. He wound up running a restaurant in Chicago, and subsequently dièd pènniless in Detroit."