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John Browning | |
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 Browning,c. 1915 | |
| Born | John Moses Browning (1855-01-23)January 23, 1855 Ogden,Utah Territory, US |
| Died | November 26, 1926(1926-11-26) (aged 71) Liège, Belgium |
| Occupation | Gunsmith |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 10, includingVal |
| Father | Jonathan Browning |
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John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855[1] – November 26, 1926) was an Americanfirearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms,cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world.[2] He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24.[3] He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modernrepeating,semi-automatic, andautomatic firearms.[4]
Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design, especially the autoloading of ammunition. He invented, or made significant improvements to, single-shot,lever-action, andpump-action rifles and shotguns. He developed the first reliable and compactautoloading pistols by inventing thetelescoping bolt, then integrating the bolt andbarrel shroud into what is known as thepistol slide. Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modernsemi-automatic pistol, as well as several modernfully automatic weapons. He also developed the firstgas-operated firearm, theColt–Browning Model 1895machine gun – a system that surpassed mechanicalrecoil operation to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide. He also made significant contributions toautomatic cannon development.
Browning's most successful designs include theM1911 pistol, the water-cooledM1917, the air-cooledM1919, andheavyM2 machine guns, theM1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and theBrowning Auto-5 – the firstsemi-automatic shotgun. Some of these arms are still manufactured, often with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics to those assembled by Browning or his licensees. The Browning-designed M1911 andHi-Power are some of the most copied firearms in the world.[5][6]
Browning's fatherJonathan—who was among the thousands ofpioneers ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who made an exodus fromNauvoo, Illinois, toUtah—established agunsmith shop in Ogden in 1852. As was common in theMormon church community at the time, Jonathan Browning was apolygamist, having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children, including John Moses, and raised two stepdaughters with his wife Elizabeth Caroline Clark.[7]
Browning worked in his father's Ogden shop from the age of seven, where he was taught basic engineering and manufacturing principles, and encouraged to experiment with new concepts. He developed his first rifle, asingle-shotfalling block action design while he was still his father's apprentice, then, in 1878, in partnership with his younger brother, co-founded John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company, later renamedBrowning Arms Company. The company began producing the brothers' designs and other non-military firearms. By 1882, the company employed John and Matthew's half-brothers Jonathan (1859–1939), Thomas (1860–1943), William (1862–1919), and George (1866–1948).
Like his father, Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-yearmission inGeorgia beginning on March 28, 1887.[8]
He married Rachel Theresa Child (September 14, 1860 – September 30, 1934) on April 10, 1879, in Ogden, Weber County, Utah Territory, and the couple had 10 children, two of whom died in infancy.[9]
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Production examples of the Browning Model 1878 Single Shot Rifle caught the attention of theWinchester Repeating Arms Company,[10] who dispatched a representative to evaluate the competition. Winchester bought the design for $8,000 and moved production to theirConnecticut factory. From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with Winchester and designed a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever actionWinchester Model 1887 and theModel 1897 pump shotgun, the falling-block single-shotModel 1885, and the lever-actionModel 1886,Model 1892,Model 1894, andModel 1895 rifles. After falling out with Winchester, Browning designed thelong recoil operated semi-automaticRemington Model 8 rifle. Many of the models are still in production today in some form; over six million Model 1894s had been produced as of 1983, more than any other sporting rifle in history.[11]
Winchester manufactured several popular small arms designed by John M. Browning. For decades in the late 19th century-early 20th century, Browning designs and Winchester firearms were synonymous and the collaboration was highly successful. This came to an end when Browning proposed a newlong recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun design, a prototype finished in 1898, to Winchester management, which ultimately became the Browning Auto-5 shotgun. As was the custom of the time, Browning's earlier designs had been sold exclusively to Winchester for a single fee payment. With this new product, Browning and his brother Matthew sought royalties based upon unit sales, rather than a single front-end fee payment. If the new shotgun became highly successful, the Browning company stood to make substantially more income. Winchester management, which had agreed to royalties for an earlier Browning shotgun design that was never manufactured, now refused to accede to the Brownings' terms. Remington Arms also was approached but the president of the company died of a heart attack while the Brownings were waiting to offer him the gun. Remington would later produce a copy of the Auto-5 as the Model 11 which was used by the US Military and was also sold to the civilian market.[12]
Having recently successfully negotiated firearm licenses withFabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium (FN), Browning took the new shotgun design to FN; the offer was accepted and FN manufactured the new shotgun, honoring its inventor, as the Browning Auto-5. The Browning Auto-5 was continuously manufactured as a highly popular shotgun throughout the 20th century. In response, Winchester shifted reliance away from John Browning designs when it adopted a shotgun design ofThomas Crossley Johnson for the new Winchester Model 1911 SL, (Johnson had to work around Browning's patents of what became the Auto-5[citation needed]) and the new Model 1912 pump shotgun, which was based in small part upon design features of the earlier Browning-designed Winchester Model 1897 shotgun. This shift marked the end of an era of Winchester-Browning collaboration.
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The premium-pricedBrowning Superposed shotgun, an over-under shotgun design, was his last completed firearm design. It was marketed originally with twin triggers; a single trigger modification was later completed by his son, Val Browning. Commercially introduced in 1931 by FN,Browning Superposed shotguns, and their more affordable cousins, theBrowning Citori made in Asia, continue to be manufactured into the 21st century and come with varying grades of fine hand engraving and premium quality wood.
Throughout his life, Browning designed a vast array of military and civilian small arms for his own company, as well as forWinchester,Colt,Remington,Savage,Stevens, andFabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium. Browning firearms have been made, both licensed and unlicensed, by hundreds of factories around the world.Browning Arms Company was established in 1927, the year after Browning's death on November 26, 1926, in Liège, Belgium. In 1977, FN Herstal acquired the company.
TheM1895 Machine Gun saw action in theSpanish–American War with the United States Marine Corps. TheColt M1911,Browning 1917/19, and theBAR saw action with US forces inWorld War I,World War II, and theKorean War. The M1911 went on to serve as the U.S.'s standard militaryside arm until 1986; avariant is still used byspecial operations units of the United States Marine Corps and the design remains very popular among civilian shooters and some police departments. TheBrowning Hi-Power has had a similarly lengthy period of military service outside the United States. The .50 caliberM2 Browning machine gun – the enduring "Ma Deuce" – was developed in 1918, entered service with the US Armed Forces in 1921, and has remained in active service for over a century with militaries across the world in a variety of roles. The 37mmM4 autocannon was initially designed by Browning in 1921 and entered service in 1938; it was used both in aircraft and onU.S. NavyPT boats during World War II.
Several of Browning's designs are still in production today. Some of his most notable designs include:
By 1900, over 75% of the repeating sporting arms on the United States market, both lever and pump, were of John's invention
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