Dreyse, Johann Nikolaus von (1787–1867)

German mechanic and firearms manufacturer. His main invention was the breech-loading needle gun (1836), which enabled the Prussian army to win a swift victory over Austria in the Seven Weeks' War (1866).

Dreyse worked in a musket factory in Paris 1809–14, before returning to Germany to found an ironware factory in Sömmerda in Thuringia. He manufactured percussion caps under a patent (1824), and invented improved small arms, notably the muzzle-loading (1827) and breech-loading needle guns. Adopted by the Prussian army in 1840, the latter proved its superiority against the slow muzzle-loading rifles of the Austrian army, particularly at the Battle of Sadowa in July 1866. It was eventually replaced by the repeating rifle.