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Charles Lancaster (gunsmith)
Charles William Lancaster (1820–1878) was an English gun maker and improver of rifles and cannon. Biography Lancaster was the eldest son of Charles Lancaster (gunmaker), gunmaker, of 151 New Bond Street, London. He was born at 5 York Street, Portman Square, London, on 24 June 1820. On leaving school he entered his father's factory, where he practically learnt the business of a gunmaker and soon became a clever designer of models, a thoroughly skilled workman, and a mechanician of high order. The study of rifled projectiles and the construction of rifles was his chief pleasure, and he soon attained the highest skill as a rifle shot. In 1846, Lancaster constructed a model rifle with which he experimented at Woolwich with success at distances of 1,000 and 1,200 yards (920 and 1,100 m). The Duke of Wellington then ordered some similar rifles for the Rifle Brigade at the Cape of Good Hope. The years 1844 and 1845 were devoted to solving the problem of rifled cannon. In July ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancaster Pepperbox
The Lancaster Pistol was a multi-barrelled (2 or 4 barrels) handgun produced in England in the mid-late 19th century, chambered in a variety of centrefire pistol calibres—chiefly .38 S&W, .450 Adams, .455 Webley, and .577 inch. The designer, London gunsmith Charles Lancaster, began his career in 1847 as an apprentice to his father, Charles Sr. During the 1850s he invented oval bore rifling and the gas check bullet. Description It was a modernised version of the pepper-box pistol popular in the early-mid 19th century.Myatt, F, ''19th century firearms'' (London 1989) Unlike these earlier guns which had percussion cap ignition, the Lancaster was chambered for the more modern brass cartridges. The unique oval rifling also enabled it to fire .410 shotgun shells. It had a faster rate of fire than the standard-issue Adams revolver and was often fitted with a Tranter-type trigger to overcome the heavy pull of the revolving striker. Sometimes classified as a Howdah pistol, the Lancas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, England. The corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world. History The Royal Engineers trace their origins back to the military engineers brought to England by William the Conqueror, specifically Bishop Gundulf of Rochester Cathedral, and claim over 900 years of unbroken service to the crown. Engineers have always served in the armies of the Crown; however, the origins of the modern corps, along with those of the Royal Artillery, lie in the Board of Ordnance established in the 15th century. In Woolwich in 1716, the Board formed the Royal Regime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Inventors
English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national identity, an identity and common culture ** English language in England, a variant of the English language spoken in England * English languages (other) * English studies, the study of English language and literature * ''English'', an Amish term for non-Amish, regardless of ethnicity Individuals * English (surname), a list of notable people with the surname ''English'' * People with the given name ** English McConnell (1882–1928), Irish footballer ** English Fisher (1928–2011), American boxing coach ** English Gardner (b. 1992), American track and field sprinter Places United States * English, Indiana, a town * English, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * English, Brazoria County, Texas, an unincorporated community * Engl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1878 Deaths
Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle of Philippopolis: Russian troops defeat the Turks. * January 23 – Benjamin Disraeli orders the British fleet to the Dardanelles. * January 24 – Russian revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, Governor of Saint Petersburg. * January 28 – ''The Yale News'' becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States. * January 31 – Turkey agrees to an armistice at Adrianople. * February 2 – Greece declares war on the Ottoman Empire. * February 7 – Pope Pius IX dies, after a 31½ year reign (the longest definitely confirmed). * February 8 – The British fleet enters Turkish waters, and anchors off Istanbul; Russia threatens to occupy Istanbul, but does not carry out the threat. * Feb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1820 Births
Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2005 Canadian dramatic feature film * 18 (British Board of Film Classification), a film rating in the United Kingdom, also used in Ireland by the Irish Film Classification Office * 18 (''Dragon Ball''), a character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise * "Eighteen", a 2006 episode of the animated television series ''12 oz. Mouse'' Music Albums * ''18'' (Moby album), 2002 * ''18'' (Nana Kitade album), 2005 * '' 18...'', 2009 debut album by G.E.M. Songs * "18" (5 Seconds of Summer song), from their 2014 eponymous debut album * "18" (One Direction song), from their 2014 studio album ''Four'' * "18", by Anarbor from their 2013 studio album '' Burnout'' * "I'm Eighteen", by Alice Cooper commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
68-pounder Lancaster Gun
68-pounder Lancaster guns were a British rifled muzzle-loading cannon of the 1850s that fired a 68-pound shell. They were fitted in pairs to the ''Arrow''-class gunvessel. The cannon was designed with an oval bore and had a range of about 6500 yards. The gun had a tendency to burst. References External links Naval guns of the United Kingdom Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom {{artillery-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is known as "The Rose of the Shires". Covering an area of 2,364 square kilometres (913 sq mi), Northamptonshire is landlocked between eight other counties: Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east, Buckinghamshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the south-west and Lincolnshire to the north-east – England's shortest administrative county boundary at 20 yards (19 metres). Northamptonshire is the southernmost county in the East Midlands. Apart from the county town of Northampton, other major population centres include Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Rushden and Daventry. Northamptonshire's county flower is the cowslip. The Soke of Peterborough fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Stratford
Old Stratford is a village and wider civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. The population of the civil parish (including Passenham) at the 2011 Census was 1,935. The 'Stratford' part of the village name is Anglo-Saxon in origin and means 'ford on a Roman road'. The Roman road in this sense is the Watling Street that runs through the middle of the village. Location The village lies immediately north of where the Watling Street crossed the River Great Ouse; just south of this crossing point is the town of Stony Stratford in Milton Keynes. (The ford was replaced by a causeway and stone bridge many years ago). The Ouse forms the boundary of the civil parish with that of Stony Stratford and also that between Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. The village is located adjacent to the junction of the A5 (northwards towards Towcester and southwards towards Milton Keynes), the A422 (westwards towards Buckingham) and the A508 (northwards towards Northampton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hughes (inventor)
John James Hughes (1814 – 17 June 1889) was a Welsh engineer, businessman and founder of the city of Donetsk. The village was originally named Yuzovka (''Hughesovka'', russian: Юзoвка) after Hughes, (" Yu z" being a Russian approximation of Hughes), formally becoming a town in May 1917 and later, in 1924, being renamed to Stalino ( uk, Сталіно); in 1961, the name was changed to Donetsk. Biography Hughes was born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, where his father was head engineer at the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. It was there that Hughes started his career, under his father's supervision. He then moved to Ebbw Vale, before joining the Uskside Foundry in Newport, Monmouthshire, in the 1840s. It was here that Hughes made his reputation and fortune, patenting a number of inventions in armaments and armour plating. The resultant revenues allowed him to acquire a shipyard aged 28, and by the age of 36 he owned a foundry in Newport. It was also during this time that he married Elizab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from this source, which is available under th Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright It was equivalent to the Admiralty, responsible for the Royal Navy (RN), and (much later) the Air Ministry, which oversaw the Royal Air Force (RAF). The name 'War Office' is also given to the former home of the department, located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. The landmark building was sold on 1 March 2016 by HM Government for more than £350 million, on a 250 year lease for conversion into a luxury hotel and residential apartments. Prior to 1855, 'War Office' signified the office of the Secretary at War. In the 17th and 18th centuries, a number of independent offices and individuals were re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of the Russian Empire in the preceding Russo-Turkish Wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe. The flashpoint was a disagreement over the rights of Christian minorities in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire, with the French promoting the rights of Roman Catholics, and Russia promoting those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The churches worked out their differences with the Ottomans and came to an agreement, but both the French Emperor Napoleon III and the Russian Tsar Nicholas I refused to back down. Nicholas issued an ultimatum that demanded the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire be placed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
