John Browning (1855

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Biography

John Moses Browning was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. 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. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.

Timeline

The story of John Browning, told in moments.

1884 Event

Sold his first gun patent to Winchester. Over the next 19 years he designed nearly every lever-action and pump-action rifle Winchester produced.

How did it feel to design nearly every rifle Winchester produced? Did selling your first patent feel like a beginning or a loss? What drove the partnership with Winchester for 19 years?

1911 Event

Designed the M1911 pistol for the U.S. Army. It served as the standard-issue sidearm for 74 years, through two World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam.

Did you imagine the M1911 serving for 74 years? What does it mean to design a weapon that outlives you by a century? Was the Army contract your crowning achievement?

1918 Life

His Browning Automatic Rifle reached the Western Front in the final months of WWI. He also designed the .50 caliber M2 machine gun, still in active military service over a century later.

How do you feel about the M2 still being in service today? Did designing weapons of war weigh on your conscience? Was the BAR arriving in WWI's final months frustrating?

1926 Death

Died at his workbench in the Fabrique Nationale factory in Herstal, Belgium. Age 71. He held 128 gun patents.

Dying at your workbench -- was that how you wanted to go? Do 128 patents tell the story of your life? What would you say to someone who calls your work destructive?

Artifacts (3)

[Pair of Early Stereograph Views of British Statues]

John Browning|F. G. O. Stuart|Unknown

1850s–1910s · Albumen silver prints

The Met View

[Group of 23 Early Stereograph Views of British Cathedrals]

1860s–80s · Albumen silver prints

The Met View

[Group of 5 Early Stereograph Views of British Hotels and Inns]

Unknown|F. G. O. Stuart|John Browning|E. W. Wyatt|J. Garnett

1860s–80s · Albumen silver prints

The Met View

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