John Browning facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids John Moses Browning
Browning, c. 1915
Born	(1855-01-23)January 23, 1855 Ogden, Utah Territory
Died	November 26, 1926(1926-11-26) (aged 71) Liège, Belgium
Occupation	Gunsmith, founder of Browning Arms Company
Spouse(s)	Rachel Theresa Child
Children	10, including Val A. Browning
Parent(s)	Jonathan Browning (father)
Awards	John Scott Medal (1905) Order of Léopold (1914)
Signature

John Moses Browning (born January 23, 1855 – died November 26, 1926) was an American inventor. He designed many different types of guns, bullets, and gun parts. Many of his designs are still used today all over the world.

He made his first gun when he was just 13 years old. This was in his father's gun shop. He received his first patent (a special right for an invention) at age 24. He eventually earned 128 patents for his gun designs. John Browning is known as one of the most successful gun designers ever. He helped create modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.

Browning changed how almost all guns work, especially how they load bullets automatically. He invented or greatly improved many types of rifles and shotguns. These included single-shot, lever-action, and pump-action guns. He also created the first reliable self-loading pistols. He did this by inventing a special part called the "telescoping bolt." This part is now in almost every modern semi-automatic pistol.

He also invented the first gas-operated gun, the Colt–Browning Model 1895 machine gun. This system became the standard for most powerful self-loading guns worldwide. He also helped a lot with automatic cannons.

Some of Browning's most famous designs include the M1911 pistol and the M2 heavy machine gun. He also designed the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and the Browning Auto-5. The Auto-5 was the very first semi-automatic shotgun. Many of his designs are still made today, often with only small changes. The M1911 and Hi-Power pistols are some of the most copied guns in the world.

Life and Work
Products
- Cartridges
- Pistols
- Shotguns
- Rifles
- Machine Guns
Selected Patents
See Also

Life and Work

Browning Brothers gun shop in Ogden, Utah Territory, 1882. John Moses Browning is third from the left.

John Browning's father, Jonathan, was a gunsmith. He opened his gun shop in Ogden, Utah, in 1852. John Moses started working in his father's shop when he was seven. There, he learned how to build and fix things. He was also encouraged to try out new ideas.

In 1878, John and his younger brother Matthew started their own company. It was first called John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company. Later, it became the Browning Arms Company. They began making John's first rifle design and other non-military guns. By 1882, their half-brothers also worked for the company.

Like his father, John Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission in Georgia starting in 1887.

He married Rachel Theresa Child in 1879. They had 10 children together, but two of them died when they were babies.

Firearm Designs

Browning with an Auto-5 shotgun.

A gun company called Winchester Repeating Arms Company noticed Browning's Model 1878 Single Shot Rifle. Winchester bought the design for $8,000 and started making it. From 1883, Browning worked with Winchester. He designed many rifles and shotguns for them. Some famous ones include the Winchester Model 1887 shotgun and the Model 1894 rifle. Many of these models are still made today. Over six million Model 1894s were made by 1983, more than any other hunting rifle.

Browning's designs and Winchester guns were very popular together for many years. But this partnership ended over a new shotgun design. Browning had created a semi-automatic shotgun, which later became the Browning Auto-5. For his older designs, Browning had sold them to Winchester for a single payment. But for this new shotgun, he and his brother wanted to get paid a small amount for each gun sold (called royalties).

Winchester did not agree to pay royalties for the Auto-5. So, Browning took his new design to a company in Belgium called Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN). FN agreed to his terms and started making the new shotgun. They named it the Browning Auto-5 to honor him. The Browning Auto-5 was a very popular shotgun for many years.

Later Work and Life

Browning in his later years.

John Browning was known for always working hard to create new and better guns. He never stopped inventing. He worked on his designs until his very last day. On November 26, 1926, he was working on a pistol design for FN in Belgium. He died that day from heart failure.

The 9mm semi-automatic pistol he was working on was very good. Another designer, Dieudonné Saive, finished it in 1935. It became known as the Browning Hi-Power pistol. This pistol is still popular with gun collectors, sports shooters, and police around the world.

His last completed gun design was the Browning Superposed shotgun. This was an "over-under" shotgun, meaning it had one barrel on top of the other. His son, Val Browning, later added a single trigger to it. The Superposed shotgun is still made today.

Throughout his life, Browning designed many military and civilian guns. He designed them for his own company and for other big companies like Winchester, Colt, and Remington. Browning guns have been made by many factories around the world. The Browning Arms Company was officially started in 1927, the year after John Browning died.

Legacy

Many of John Browning's designs were used by soldiers in wars. The M1895 Machine Gun was used in the Spanish–American War. The Colt M1911, the Browning 1917/19, and the BAR were used by US forces in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The M1911 was the main pistol for the U.S. military until 1986. Special forces still use a version of it today.

The Browning Hi-Power pistol has also been used by many armies outside the United States. It is still the main pistol for the Australian and Canadian armed forces. The .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun, also called "Ma Deuce," was designed in 1918. It has been used by militaries around the world for over 100 years.

Products

Many of Browning's designs are still made today. Here are some of his most famous designs:

Cartridges

.25 ACP
.32 ACP
.38 ACP
.380 ACP
.45 ACP
.50 BMG
9mm Browning Long

Pistols

FN M1899/M1900 (.32 ACP)
Colt Model 1900 (.38 ACP)
Colt Model 1902 (.38 ACP)
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer (.38 ACP)
FN Model 1903 (9mm Browning Long)
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless (.32 ACP)
FN Model 1906 Vest Pocket (.25 ACP)
Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket (.25 ACP)
Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless (.380 ACP)
FN Model 1910 (.32 ACP, .380 ACP)
FN model 1922 (.32 ACP) and (.380 ACP)
U.S. M1911 pistol (.45 ACP)
Browning Hi-Power (9mm Parabellum)
Colt Woodsman pistol (.22 LR)

Shotguns

Savage Model 720 long-recoil semi-automatic shotgun
Ithaca Model 37 pump-action repeating shotgun
Stevens Model 520/620 pump-action repeating shotgun
Winchester Model 1887 lever-action repeating shotgun
Winchester Model 1893 pump-action repeating shotgun
Winchester Model 1897 pump-action repeating shotgun
Winchester Model 1912 pump-action repeating shotgun
Browning Auto-5 long-recoil semi-automatic shotgun
Browning Superposed over/under shotgun
Remington Model 17 pump-action repeating shotgun

Rifles

Winchester Model 1885 falling-block single-shot rifle
Winchester Model 1886 lever-action repeating rifle
Winchester Model 1890 slide-action repeating rifle (.22 LR)
Winchester Model 1892 lever-action repeating rifle
Winchester Model 1894 lever-action repeating rifle
Winchester Model 1895 lever-action repeating rifle
Winchester Model 1900 bolt-action single-shot rifle (.22 LR)
Remington Model 8 semi-auto rifle
Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle (.22 LR)
Remington Model 24 semi-auto rifle (.22 LR)
FN Trombone pump-action rifle (.22 LR)

Machine Guns

U.S. M1895 air-cooled gas-operated machine gun
U.S. M1917 water-cooled recoil-operated machine gun
U.S. M1919 air-cooled recoil-operated machine gun
U.S. M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
U.S. M2 .50-caliber heavy machine gun
U.S. M4 37mm Automatic Gun

Selected Patents

U.S. Patent 220,271 Winchester 1885 single-shot rifle, Browning's first patent
U.S. Patent 306,577 Winchester 1886 and Model 71 lever-action rifles
U.S. Patent 336,287 Winchester Model 1887/1901 lever-action shotgun
U.S. Patent 385,238 Winchester 1890 pump-action rifle
U.S. Patent 441,390 Winchester 1893 and 1897 pump-action shotguns
U.S. Patent 465,339 Winchester 1892 lever-action rifle
U.S. Patent 524,702 Winchester 1894 lever-action rifle
U.S. Patent 544,657 Colt–Browning Model 1895 machine gun
U.S. Patent 549,345 Winchester 1895 lever-action rifle
U.S. Patent 580,924 Colt 1900 automatic pistol
U.S. Patent 632,094 Winchester 1900 bolt-action single-shot .22 rifle
U.S. Patent 689,283 Browning Auto-5 shotgun, also Remington Model 11 and Savage 720
U.S. Patent 659,786 Remington Model 8 semi-automatic rifle
U.S. Patent 678,937 M1917 Browning machine gun
U.S. Patent 747,585 Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless automatic pistol
U.S. Patent 781,765 U.S. Patent 864,609 Stevens 520 pump-action shotgun
U.S. Patent 808,003 Colt Model 1905 in .45 ACP (predecessor to the M1911)
U.S. Patent 947,478 FN Model 1906 and Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket in .25 ACP
U.S. Patent 984,519 Colt 1911
U.S. Patent 1,065,341 Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle and Remington model 24
U.S. Patent 1,143,170 Remington Model 17 and Ithaca 37 pump-action shotguns
U.S. Patent 1,276,716 Colt Woodsman
U.S. Patent 1,293,022 Browning Automatic Rifle Model of 1918
U.S. Patent 1,424,553 FN "Trombone" pump action .22 caliber repeater (Rare in USA)
U.S. Patent 1,525,065 37 mm automatic cannons, M1 and M4
U.S. Patent 1,578,638 Browning Superposed over/under shotgun
U.S. Patent 1,618,510 FN and Browning Hi-Power pistol
U.S. Patent 1,628,226 M2 Browning machine gun in .50 BMG