The Lewis Gun (or Lewis Automatic Machine Gun) is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War. It is visually distinctive because of a wide tubular cooling shroud around the barrel and a top-mounted drum-pan magazine. It was commonly used as an aircraft machine gun, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, during both World Wars.
The Lewis Gun was invented by US Army Colonel Isaac Newton Lewis in 1911, based on initial work by Samuel Maclean. Despite its origins, the Lewis Gun was not initially adopted by the American military—most likely because of political differences between Lewis and General William Crozier, the Chief of the Ordnance Department. Lewis became frustrated with trying to persuade the US Army to adopt his design and so ("slapped by rejections from ignorant hacks", as he said), retired from the army. He left the United States in 1913 and headed to Belgium (and shortly afterwards, the UK). He established the Armes Automatique Lewis company in Liege to facilitate commercial production of the gun. Lewis had been working closely with British arms manufacturer the Birmingham Small Arms company (BSA) in an effort to overcome some of the production difficulties of the weapon. The Belgians quickly adopted the design in 1913, using the .303 British round, and in 1914, BSA purchased a licence to manufacture the Lewis Machine Gun in the UK, which resulted in Col. Lewis receiving significant royalty payments and becoming very wealthy.
Coordinates: 58°13′13″N 6°22′59″W / 58.220163°N 6.38301°W / 58.220163; -6.38301
Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas, pronounced [ʎɔː.əs̪], also Isle of Lewis) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides (an archipelago) of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).
Lewis is, in general, the lower lying part of Lewis and Harris, with the other part, Harris, being more mountainous. The flatter, more fertile land means Lewis contains the largest settlement, Stornoway, and three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles. Beyond human habitation, the island's diverse habitats are home to an assortment of flora and fauna, such as the golden eagle, red deer and seals and are recognised in a number of conservation areas.
Lewis is of Presbyterian tradition with a rich history, having once been part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is very different from elsewhere in Scotland with Sabbath observance, the Gaelic language and peat cutting retaining more importance than elsewhere. Lewis has a rich cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary and musical traditions.
Jonathan "Jon" Lewis (born 26 August 1975) is an English cricketer. He was brought up in Swindon where he went to Churchfields School and Swindon College. He played for Swindon CC and, in Minor Counties cricket, for Wiltshire County Cricket Club in 1993. He joined Northamptonshire in 1994 and played for its Second XI but returned to Wiltshire in 1995. In the same year, he joined Gloucestershire and made his first-class debut. He was appointed Gloucestershire captain in 2006. He has played for the English cricket team in Twenty20, One Day International and Test matches.
In 2005, Lewis was included in the England squad for the two Tests against Bangladesh, but did not play in either match. He did, however, make his first international appearance in the Twenty20 game against Australia in June, and took 4-24 in his four overs as England recorded a crushing 100-run victory. He made his One Day International debut a few days later in England's win against Bangladesh at The Oval, again impressing with 3-32 from ten overs. He was included in the 13-man squad for the home series against Sri Lanka in 2006, making his Test debut at Trent Bridge on 2 June 2006 and taking a wicket with his fourth delivery (and third legitimate ball) in Test cricket. He is the 634th player to represent England at Test cricket.
Aaron Lewis, (born April 13, 1972), is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and founding member of the rock group Staind, with whom he has released seven studio albums. He has since ventured into country music with his debut solo album, Town Line. The EP was released on March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records. Lewis' first full-length solo release, The Road, will be released by Blaster Records on August 14, 2012.
Lewis grew up, largely, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, then moved to the Forest Park section of nearby Springfield from 8th grade through high school. His mother is Jewish with origins in Russia, Poland and Germany and his father is Catholic of Italian, Welsh and English origin. His hobbies include fishing, playing golf, riding his motorcycle and dirt bike, as well as hunting. He has worked in landscaping, cleaned hotel rooms, and played solo acoustic sets in bars, pool halls, restaurants and coffeehouses.
Lewis was, before Staind, in a band known as J-CAT with Tori Sands, Chris Ballini, and former Staind bandmate Jon Wysocki. An album surfaced on the internet with nine of J-CAT's performances at Club Infinity in Springfield, Massachusetts. The performances were recorded while Dysfunction was being recorded. Two of Staind's popular singles—"Outside" and "It's Been Awhile"—were both originally performed by J-CAT with somewhat different lyrics.
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis is a three-piece band comprising the siblings of the Durham family. Their music is influenced heavily by R&B, swing, jump blues, country and Western, blues, Hawaiian and rock 'n' roll. They are all multi-instrumentalists playing guitar, piano, banjo, lapsteel guitar, harmonica, double bass, ukulele, drums, trombone, xylophone and accordion between them.
Kitty Durham is the youngest of the group and primarily sings and plays drums, harmonica, ukulele, banjo, trombone and guitar. Daisy Durham, the eldest, primarily sings and plays drums, piano, accordion and xylophone. Lewis Durham sings and plays guitar, piano, banjo, lapsteel and drums. He collects and plays/DJ's 78rpm records and has built a home studio which consists of antique recording equipment such as 8-track tape machines and vintage BBC and RCA microphones. Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis do not use computers or any digital format during the recording process.
Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis have been performing from a young age, and have therefore built up a fanbase which supposedly includes Chris Martin, Eagles of Death Metal, Dustin Hoffman, and Ewan McGregor. They have had worldwide success with sold-out tours and have opened for Coldplay, Razorlight, Richard Hawley, Jools Holland, and others.