The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was a bolt action repeating rifle firing a 10.15 mm black powder cartridge in an 8-round, tubular magazine. It was among the earliest repeating rifles to be adopted in the world. Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army from a fighting force armed with single-shot black powder weapons into a force armed with modern repeating weapons firing smokeless ammunition. Several thousand were manufactured to equip both Norwegian and Swedish forces in the 1880s. The design is unique, and is the brainchild of Norwegian engineer Jacob Smith Jarmann. After the design had been phased out of the Norwegian Army, a number of the weapons were rebuilt as harpoon guns.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarmann_M1884

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1905: Japanese forces led by Admiral Togo Heihachiro destroyed the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Battle of Tsushima, the decisive naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tsushima)

1918: The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, one of the first democratic republics in the Muslim world, was proclaimed in Ganja. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan_Democratic_Republic)

1961: An article by Peter Benenson was published in newspapers, starting a letter-writing campaign that grew and became Amnesty International. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International)

1975: Sixteen West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos, establishing the Economic Community of West African States. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"What I do know for certain is that what is regarded as success in a rational materialistic society only impresses superficial minds. It amounts to nothing and will not help us rout the destructive forces threatening us today. What may be our salvation is the discovery of the identity hidden deep in any one of us, and which may be found in even the most desperate individual, if he cares to search the spiritual womb which contains the embryo of what can be one's personal contribution to truth and life." -- Patrick White (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_White)