John Lee (inventor)
| John Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hawick, Scotland  |
| Nationality |
 Canada
|
| Occupation | arms designer |
| Known for | Co-inventing a prototype bolt-action rifle |
John Lee was a Scottish-Canadian - Canadian inventor and arms designer, best known for co- inventing a prototype bolt-action rifle with his brother James Paris Lee. The rifle they made led to the Lee–Metford and Lee–Enfield series of rifles.
Harrowing from Hawick, Scotland the Lee family emigrated to Ontario in Canada c.1835. After John grew up he moved to a small town along the Sydenham River called Wallaceburg.
In 1878, Lee and his brother James Paris perfected a rifle with a box magazine in Wallaceburg [1]. This rifle later became an antecedent to the famous Lee–Enfield rifle. A well trained gunman could fire approximately 15-30 shots a minute. The prototype was tested successfully in Wallaceburg. The rifle, still in exhistence, is housed at the Wallaceburg and District Museum[2].
In the spring of 1964 Frank Mann, Wallaceburg’s local historian, and Darcy McKeough, Chatham-Kent’s M.P.P. corresponded. The letters discussed the possibility of erecting a plaque to commemorate the first test shot of the Lee rifle in Wallaceburg. The two discovered that they needed the approval of the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario (A.H.S.B.O.) to get official historic site designation.
Historians and dignitaries such as J.M.S. Careless, Richard Apted, Harry Pietersma and James Auld helped research and facilitate the investigation. In over a decade of study few documents were found to substantiate that the first shot occurred in Wallaceburg. Nonetheless, the A.H.S.B.O. recognized that there was a vast amount of other evidence that could not be ignored. Most of the testimonials came from oral history passed down through the decedents of James Paris and John Lee. In 1975, they erected a plaque in civic park that stated, “Tradition holds that this (the first firing) occurred at Wallaceburg while Lee was visiting his brother John, a local foundry owner.” The plaque is located in Civic Park close to the original location of John Lee’s foundry.
...
Wikipedia