Cannon
A long cylindrical tube for throwing projectiles by the explosion of gunpowder. The date of the invention and the name of the inventor are unknown. It is certain that King Edward employed cannon at the battle of Cressy, A.D. 1346, but records are extant showing that they were known in France as early as the year 1338; and Isaac Vossius asserts that they were used in China seventeen hundred years ago. The earliest cannon were made by hooping iron bars, or of sheets of iron rolled up and fastened together. These cumbersome machines were used for throwing large stones in the manner of the ancients. These were gradually supplanted by brass cannon of much smaller calibre, which threw iron and lead balls; they were first cast of a mixture of tin and copper, which was naturally called gun-metal, but subsequently cast-iron guns came into use on account of their being so much cheaper. See ORDNANCE.