Major General Henry Shrapnel (3 June 1761 – 13 March 1842) was a British Army officer and inventor, most famously, of the "shrapnel shell". Henry Shrapnel was born at Midway Manor in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. Shrapnel served in Flanders, where he was wounded in 1793. He was promoted to major on 1 November 1803 after eight years as a captain. After his invention's success in battle at Fort New Amsterdam on 30 April 1804, Shrapnel was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 20 July 1804, less than nine months later.