Revolver

The idea of a gun that would keep up a continuous stream of fire attracted inventors early in the development of firearms. In 1718 James Puckle invented a gun that could fire 63 shots in seven minutes. The invention of the hand-rotated flintlock revolver by Elisha Collier and Artemus Wheeler in 1818 was an early example of this approach. Samuel Holt produced the first effective revolver in 1836 and was later used by the United States Army.