John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 â November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms â 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 pioneered the development of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.
Browning’s most successful designs include the M1911 pistol, the water-cooled M1917, the air-cooled M1919, and heavy M2 machine guns, the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR OR B.A.R.), and the Browning Auto-5 â the first semi-automatic shotgun.
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