Gerald Bull was born in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, in 1928. He studied engineering at Queen’s University, where he was regarded as an unimpressive student. However, he went on to complete graduate work at the University of Toronto and earned his PhD in 1951 at age 23. Bull also began to work with the Canadian Armament and Research Development Establishment (CARDE) on projects related to rockets and missiles. Eventually, after conflicts with administration and government, Bull resigned and took a job as a professor in the engineering department at McGill University. While working at McGill, Bull donated land that he owned in rural Quebec, near the village of Highwater, to be used as a research site for the development of new artillery and weapons.

Bull researched and developed a number of long-range weapons but was especially committed to developing a gun-launched rocket that could fire missiles capable of reaching outer space. He eventually privatized much of his research and became an international artillery consultant. In the late 1980s, Bull began working with Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq, to develop several superguns; this endeavor was referred to as Project Babylon and was planned to yield two full-sized Big Babylon guns and a prototype—a much smaller gun called Baby Babylon.