Gaston Glock facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gaston Glock
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| Born | 19 July 1929 |
| Died | 27 December 2023 (aged 94) Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria
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| Occupation |
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| Known for | Founder of Glock Ges.m.b.H. |
| Title | Managing director of Glock |
| Spouse(s) |
Helga Glock
(m. 1958; div. 2011)Kathrin Tschikof
(m. 2011) |
| Children | 3 |
Gaston Glock (19 July 1929 – 27 December 2023) was an Austrian engineer and a smart businessman. He started a company called Glock. In 1982, he created the Glock pistol. This pistol became very famous and important in the world of firearms.
Early Life and Work
Gaston Glock was born in Vienna, Austria, on July 19, 1929. When he was a teenager, near the end of World War II, he joined the army. After the war, he finished school and became an engineer. He then worked for a company that made hand drills.
How Glock Started Making Guns
Glock started his own business in the 1960s. At first, he made things like curtain rods. In the 1970s, he began making knives for the Austrian military. He didn't design a firearm until he was 52 years old.
He already knew a lot about polymers, which are types of plastic. He used them in his earlier businesses. In 1980, he bought a special machine. He used it to make plastic handles and covers for the knives he was making. He worked in his garage workshop.
His first employees had experience making plastic parts for cameras. This helped him a lot. His very first pistol was called the Glock 17. It took him one year to design and make it. He applied for a patent for his new pistol in April 1981.
The Glock pistol became very popular, especially in the United States. Many police forces in America started using it. This included the police in New York City.
A Difficult Event
In July 1999, Gaston Glock thought that one of his financial advisors, Charles Ewert, was misusing company money. When Glock talked to Ewert about it, Ewert hired someone to hurt Glock. The person attacked Glock in a car park. Glock was hit on the head, but he fought back. Both Ewert and the attacker were later found guilty and sent to prison.
Family Life
Gaston Glock married Helga Glock in 1958. They started their family business together in 1963. They had three children: Brigitte, Gaston Jr., and Robert.
Gaston and Helga divorced in 2011. Later that same year, Gaston married his second wife, Kathrin Tschikof. She was a nurse who had helped him after he had a stroke in 2008.
Glock was known for being a very private person. He avoided being in the public eye, even though his invention was very famous. He also gave a lot of money to charities in Austria.
Gaston Glock passed away on December 27, 2023, when he was 94 years old.
