These days, shrapnel refers to the fragments of a bomb, mine, or shell, but the original Shrapnel shell named a projectile consisting of a case provided with a powder charge and a large number of usually lead balls that explode in flight. It was first used on the battlefield in 1804, after nearly two decades of development.

Shrapnel was the brainchild of 23-year old Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel. In 1784, he conceived of a weapon that was a hollow spherical projectile filled with shot and featuring an explosive charge designed to scatter the shot and shell fragments in midair. Shrapnel labored away at his invention for 28 years. The British artillery finally adopted his invention in 1803 but refused to compensate him for his years of work and thousands of pounds of investment. During World War II, artillerymen realized that the explosive charge fragmented the shrapnel shell casing so effectively that weapons designers could skip the step of including shrapnel balls inside the case.