Benjamin Tyler Henry

For the British gunsmith, see Alexander Henry (gunsmith).

Benjamin Tyler Henry
Born	Benjamin Tyler Henry (1821-03-22)March 22, 1821 Woodstock, Vermont
Died	December 29, 1898(1898-12-29) (aged 77)
Occupation(s)	Firearms designer and inventor

Benjamin Tyler Henry (1821–1898) was an American gunsmith and manufacturer. He was the inventor of the Henry rifle, the first reliable lever-action repeating rifle.

Biography

Henry was born in Woodstock, Vermont. He was hired by Oliver Winchester at the New Haven Arms Company in the late 1850s to improve the design of the Volcanic repeating rifle. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle, which soon proved the worth of the lever-action design on the battlefields of the American Civil War, where Henry rifles were used alongside muzzle-loading rifled muskets such as the Springfield Model 1861. (The first Henry rifles were not produced for army use until mid-1862.)

Henry continued to work at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company until at least 1873.

See also

• Winchester Repeating Arms Company
• Winchester rifle
• Henry repeating rifle

External links

• The Henry Repeating Arms Company Web site