Sniper, 2nd Edition: Training, Techniques and Weapons - Peter Brookesmith - Google Books

https://books.google.de/books?id=wCM24Q0thT0C&pg=PA37#v=onepage

The first written use of the word "sniper" was in a soldier's letter from India in 1773, and in fact, the slaying of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 by an enemy archer may well be one of the earliest recorded instances of the art of the…