Edward Maynard
| Edward Maynard | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1813 Madison, New York |
| Died | May 4, 1891 (aged 78) |
Edward Maynard (April 26, 1813 – May 4, 1891) was an American firearms inventor, most famous for his breechloading rifle design.
Edward Maynard was born in Madison, New York, on April 26, 1813. In 1831 he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point but resigned after only a semester due to ill health and became a dentist in 1835.
Maynard continued to practice dentistry for the rest of his life, becoming one of the most prominent dentists in the United States. Practicing in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. his clientele included the country's political elite, including Congressmen and Presidents, and it is reported that he was offered but declined the position of Imperial Dentist to Tsar Nicholas I. In 1857 he became professor of theory and practice in Baltimore College of Dental Surgery.
Maynard had two wives; his first was Ellen (born 1826, and to which all of his known children were born) and Nellie (born 1845). Maynard's son, George Willoughby Maynard, was born in Washington, D. C. on March 5, 1843 and became a successful artist. His other children included John (born 1855), Ellen (born 1858), Josephine (born 1860), Marie (born 1852), Virginia (born 1854), and Edna (born 1870).
In 1845 Maynard patented the first of 23 firearms-related patents he was awarded during his life.
In 1888 he held the chair of Dental Theory and Practice at the National university in Washington. He died on May 4, 1891 and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC.
Maynard invented many dental methods and instruments, but is most famous for his firearms inventions. He achieved lucrative fame for his first patent, an 1845 priming system which cycled a small mercury fulminate charge to the nipple of a percussion cap firearm. His system used a magazine from which a paper roll, not unlike modern cap guns, advanced a charge over the nipple as the gun was cocked; this was intended to accelerate the gun's rate of fire as the shooter could concentrate on loading and firing the gun. The system was quickly adopted by several commercial gun makers, and the United States government decided to test it.
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