Jonathan Browning (inventor) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jonathan Browning |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | October 22, 1805 Sumner County, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | June 21, 1879 (aged 73) Ogden, Weber County, Utah |
| Resting place | Ogden City Cemetery 41°13′59″N 111°57′43″W / 41.233°N 111.962°W |
| Home town | Ogden, Utah, United States |
| Known For | Harmonica gun |
| Occupation | Blacksmith and Gunsmith |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Stalcup m. 1826, Elizabeth C. Clark m. 1854, Ann Emmett m. 1858 |
| Children | 22, including: John M Browning Matthew S. Browning |
| Parents | Edmund Browning Sarah B. Allen |
| Relatives | Including: Val A. Browning (grandson) |
Jonathan Browning (born October 22, 1805 – died June 21, 1879) was a clever American inventor and a skilled gunsmith. He is famous for creating unique firearms, including the "Harmonica gun." His son, John Moses Browning, also became a very important gun designer.
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Jonathan Browning's Early Life
Jonathan Browning was born on October 22, 1805, in Sumner County, Tennessee. He started his working life as a blacksmith, shaping metal with fire and tools.
By 1824, he changed his path to become a gunsmith. He learned this skill from Samuel Porter in Nashville. Jonathan began making firearms on his own by 1831.
Between 1834 and 1842, while living in Quincy, Illinois, he invented a special type of repeating rifle. This gun was called a "sliding breech" rifle or a "Harmonica gun." It took about two weeks to make each one by hand.
Jonathan moved his family to White's Creek, near Nashville, around 1827. They lived there until 1833. Later, he and his brother bought farms in La Prairie, Illinois. A family story says that he even met a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln, who stayed at his home a few times.
Moving to Missouri
In October 1838, a difficult order was given in Missouri. This order caused many followers of Joseph Smith, known as Latter-day Saints, to leave the state.
Browning met many of these people who were leaving Missouri. He became curious about their new settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois. He visited Nauvoo and met Joseph Smith, the leader of the Latter-day Saints. This meeting led Jonathan Browning to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Life in Nauvoo
Jonathan Browning moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1842. He bought a home and added a gun shop connected to it. He lived and worked in these buildings from 1842 to 1846.
In 1844, Joseph Smith was killed. Because of growing difficulties, Browning was part of a group that left Nauvoo in 1846.
The guns Browning made during his time as a Latter-day Saint gunsmith had a special label. It read: "Holiness to the Lord - Our Preservation." Today, the Jonathan Browning Home and Gunshop has been restored. It is open to the public as a museum.
Journey to Utah
In late 1846, Browning left Illinois with Brigham Young to escape religious difficulties. He settled in a community called Mosquito Creek, near Council Bluffs, Iowa. There, he repaired guns for settlers who were traveling to Utah. He waited for Brigham Young to invite him to join the main group of settlers.
Browning wanted to join the Mormon Battalion, a group of soldiers formed during a war. However, Brigham Young told him that his gunsmith skills were more needed by the pioneers traveling to Utah.
Jonathan Browning received word from Brigham Young to join the main group of settlers in 1852. He left Iowa on July 8, 1852. He traveled across the Rocky Mountains as the leader of ten wagons in a large company.
He arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on October 2, 1852. He then moved to Ogden, Utah, where he opened a new gun shop. Jonathan Browning had three wives and was the father of 22 children.
Two of his children became very famous gun designers:
- John Moses Browning: He became one of the most important people in creating modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms.
- Matthew Sandefur Browning: He helped start the Browning Brothers company.
Jonathan ran his gun shop and also invested in land in Ogden. He served in the Utah government from 1853 to 1854. He was also a judge for Weber County, Utah. His main focus, though, was always his gun shop in Ogden.
His son, John Moses, later remembered working with his father. He said they often fixed old guns. Jonathan Browning passed away on June 21, 1879, in Ogden, Utah.
Images for kids
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Jonathan Browning in 1865
See also
In Spanish: Jonathan Browning (inventor) para niños
