Casimir Lefaucheux | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1802-01-26)26 January 1802 Bonnétable, France |
| Died | 9 August 1852(1852-08-09) (aged 50) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Gunsmith |
Casimir Lefaucheux (French:[kazimiʁləfoʃø]; 26 January 1802 – 9 August 1852) was a Frenchgunsmith. He was born inBonnétable, France and died inParis, France.
Casimir Lefaucheux obtained his first patent in 1827. In 1832, he completed a drop-barrel sporting gun with paper cartridges.[1]
Lefaucheux is credited with the development of one of the first efficient self-containedcartridge systems. This 1835 invention, featuring apinfire mechanism, followed the pioneering work ofJean Samuel Pauly in 1808-1812. TheLefaucheux cartridge had a conicalbullet, a cardboard powder tube, and a copper base that incorporated a primer pellet.[2] Lefaucheux thus proposed one of the first practicalbreech-loading weapons.[3]
In 1846, Benjamin Houllier improved on the Lefaucheux system by introducing an entirely metallic cartridge of copper brass.[2]
In 1858, the Lefaucheuxpistolet-revolver became the first metallic-cartridgerevolver to be adopted by a national government, becoming the standard sidearm of theFrench Navy.[2]
In May 1866,Ferdinand Cohen-Blind attempted to assassinateOtto Von Bismarck with aPepper-box in Lefaucheux pistol.
A 7 mm Lefaucheux revolver, used byPaul Verlaine to shoot and woundArthur Rimbaud in 1873, sold for €435,000 at a 2016 Paris auction.[4][5]
It is thought likely that the gun with which the Dutch painterVincent van Gogh fatally shot himself in a field in 1890 was a 7 mm Lefaucheuxpinfire revolver. The pistol was found, extremely corroded, in 1960 and is on display at theVan Gogh Museum inAmsterdam.[6][7]
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