John Browning

: This article is about John Browning the American weapon designer, and not John Browning the pianist, or John Browning the football player.

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John Browning - John Browning

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John Moses Browning (January 21, 1855 – November 26, 1926), born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of weapons which were used in the U.S. military for decades in the 20th century. He is sometimes referred to as "the patron saint of automatic fire." He is credited with 128 gun patents—his first (for a single shot rifle) was granted October 7, 1879.

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January 21 - 1855 - November 26 - 1926 - Ogden, Utah - American - Firearm - Weapon - U.S. military - 20th century - Patent - Rifle - October 7 - 1879

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From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, and designed a series of repeating rifles and shotguns, most notably the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1897 shotguns and the Winchester Model 1885, Model 1886 and Model 1894 rifles, all of which are still in production today. Until his death in 1926, Browning designed weapons for Colt, Remington, his own company and Fabrique Nationale of Belgium. Whilst working on a self-loading pistol design for the latter company he died, in Liege, of heart failure.

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1883 - Winchester Repeating Arms Company - Winchester Model 1887 - Model 1897 - Winchester Model 1885 - Model 1886 - Model 1894 - 1926 - Colt - Remington - Fabrique Nationale - Belgium - Liege

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Several of his most notable designs are still in production today. The most notable include:

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• The Winchester Model 1887 lever-action repeating shotgun;
• The Browning Auto-5 semi-automatic shotgun of 1902;
• The Browning M1910 semi-automatic handgun;
• The Colt Model 1911 semi-automatic handgun;
• The Model 1917 water-cooled machine gun;
• The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) of 1918;
• The Browning M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun of 1921.

The 9mm self-loading pistol he was working on when he died was eventually completed in 1935, by Belgian designer Dieudonne Saive. Released as the Fabrique Nationale GP35, it was more popularly known as the Browning Hi-Power.

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1935 - Dieudonne Saive - Browning Hi-Power

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The Colt 1911, Browning 1917, and the BAR saw action in World War I, World War II and the Korean War, with the 1911 going on to serve as the United States's standard military sidearm until 1986; a variant is still used by special operations units of the USMC and FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, and the design is very popular amongst civilian shooters. The Browning Hi-Power would have a similarly lengthy period of service outside the United States, and remains the standard sidearm of the United Kingdom's armed forces. The M2 heavy machine gun is still in widespread use throughout the world.

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World War I - World War II - Korean War - Special operations - USMC - FBI - Hostage Rescue Team

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In 1977 FN acquired the Browning Arms Company which had been established in 1927, the year after Browning's death.

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1977 - Browning Arms Company - 1927

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Perhaps the most famous individual Browning-designed firearm was a Browning M1910 handgun, serial number 19074. In 1914, the pistol was used by Gavrilo Princip to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, an event which sparked off the First World War. The pistol was rediscovered in 2004. http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/22/wferd22.xml

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1914 - Gavrilo Princip - Assassinate - Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria - First World War - 2004

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Browning belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a two year mission for the church in Georgia beginning on March 28, 1887. His father Jonathan Browning, who was among the thousands of Mormon pioneers in the mass exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois to Utah, had established a gunsmith shop in Ogden in 1852.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Church - Georgia - March 28 - 1887 - Jonathan Browning - Mormon - Pioneer - Nauvoo, Illinois - Utah - Gunsmith - Ogden - 1852

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John Browning: Patents ►