Most sources give January 23rd as American engineer John Moses Browning's birthday, back in 1855 in Ogden (then a small town) in Utah, the son of a gunsmith.
In 1879, John patented the design for a rifle he'd made. It's known today as the Winchester lever-action .30-30 (the kind you've seen in many Western movies) because Winchester bought the rights to the amazing gun and mass-marketed it.
Browning invented the pump-action shotgun -- a style carried by most police departments today. Winchester also bought the rights to this popular gun.
Browning invented the cartridge-exhaust-gas powered machine-gun, and sold the design to Colt who sold the heavy gun to the U.S. Army as the Colt Model 1985 Peacemaker.
Browning invented the modern autoloading shotgun, also powered by cartridge exhaust gas. When Winchester turned him down, he took this design to Belgium (Fabrique National de Belgique).
Browning invented the barrel-enclosing slide, seen on virtually all modern autoloading (AKA semi-automatic) handguns.
Browning invented the U.S. Military's Model 1918 light machine gun, known as the BAR -- the Browning Automatic Rifle. It was used in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and at the beginning of the Vietnam War.
However, John Moses Browning's most famous gun design is the one accepted for use by the U.S. Army, the Model 1911 .45, and Browning also designed the cartridge/bullet that went with it, the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol). The venerable M1911 was the standard side-arm of the U.S. military for decades, and is making another comeback based on combat experience in the Middle East.
Browning (1855-1926) is the world's pre-eminent firearms designer.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
John Moses Browning Day
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