George Koehler

George Frederick Koehler was a British artist, soldier and engineer. He is known for creating a gun that recoiled allowing it to fire down the side of a mountain without sending the gun carriage flying into the air. The Koehler Depressing Carriage is still commemorated today in Gibraltar where it was an important defence during the Great Siege of Gibraltar.

Koehler was born in 1758 and baptised in Woolwich. His father was a bombardier who had been born in Germany. He became a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in January 1780.

Source: Wikipedia