Deringer, Henry, Jr.
Deringer, Henry, Jr.
(1786–1868) gunsmith; born in Easton, Pa. The son of a German gunmaker, he served as apprenticeship in Richmond, Va., and then opened his own shop in Philadelphia (1806). He made rifles for the U.S. Office of Indian Trade (1830s). He turned to making pistols, and his pocket pistol, the "Deringer Phila," found a ready market during the 1850s and 1860s, especially on the frontier. He died a wealthy man, with real estate and coal land holdings. The "Derringer" (the extra "r" was inserted by mistake) became infamous for its use by John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of President Lincoln.The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.