1-155-536 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Henry Morton Stanley's African expedition to relieve Emin Pasha, 1886-1889 (1887). Emin Pasha, who was in the Egyptian service and Governor of the Equatorial Province, was isolated and surrounded by enemies. Stanley (1841-1904), shown here equipped with a Maxim machine gun, was sent to relieve him. Hiram Maxim developed the first fully automatic machine gun (1884) which he offered to the United States War and Navy departments. They refused him and he then offered it to the British and it was adopted by the War Office. By 1891 it was standard issue for the British Army. From The Illustrated London News. (London, 5 February 1887).