View source for John Browning

{{short description|American firearms designer (1855–1926)}}
{{Other people}}
{{more citations needed|date = March 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = JOHN M. BROWNING.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Browning, {{circa|1915}}
| birth_name         = John Moses Browning
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1855|01|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Ogden, Utah|Ogden]], [[Utah Territory]], US
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1926|11|26|1855|01|23}}
| death_place        = [[Liège]], Belgium
| occupation         = Gunsmith
| spouse             = {{Marriage|Rachel Theresa Child|1879}}
| children           = 10, including [[Val A. Browning|Val]]
| father             = [[Jonathan Browning (inventor)|Jonathan Browning]]
| awards             = {{plainlist|
* [[John Scott Medal]] (1905)
* [[Order of Léopold]] (1914)
}}
| signature          = John M. Browning signature.png
}}

'''John Moses Browning''' (January 23, 1855<ref name="Jguqo" /> – November 26, 1926) was an American [[firearm]] designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridges]], and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world.<ref name="ZSzWx" /> 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.<ref name="qSJIy" /> He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern [[repeating firearm|repeating]], [[semi-automatic firearm|semi-automatic]], and [[automatic firearm|automatic]] firearms.<ref name="NXlw8" />

Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design, especially the autoloading of ammunition. He invented, or made significant improvements to, single-shot, [[lever-action]], and [[pump-action]] rifles and shotguns. He developed the first reliable and compact [[semi-automatic pistol|autoloading pistol]]s by inventing the [[telescoping bolt]], then integrating the bolt and [[barrel shroud]] into what is known as the [[pistol slide]]. Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern [[semi-automatic pistol]], as well as several modern [[Automatic firearm|fully automatic]] weapons. He also developed the first [[Gas operation|gas-operated]] firearm, the [[M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun|Colt–Browning Model 1895]] [[machine gun]]{{snd}}a system that surpassed mechanical [[recoil operation]] to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide. He also made significant contributions to [[automatic cannon]] development.

Browning's most successful designs include the [[M1911 pistol]], the water-cooled [[M1917 Browning machine gun|M1917]], the air-cooled [[M1919 Browning machine gun|M1919]], and [[heavy machine gun|heavy]] [[M2 Browning machine gun|M2]] machine guns, the [[M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle]], and the [[Browning Auto-5]]{{snd}}the first [[semi-automatic shotgun]]. Some of these arms are still manufactured, often with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics to those assembled by Browning or his licensees. The Browning-designed M1911 and [[Browning Hi-Power|Hi-Power]] are some of the most copied firearms in the world.<ref name="Copy1"/><ref name="Copy2"/>

== Early life and craftsmanship ==
[[File:Browning Gun Shop, Ogden.jpg|thumb|Browning Brothers gun shop, Ogden, Utah Territory, 1882. From left to right: Thomas Samuel Browning, George Emmett Browning, John Moses Browning, Matthew Sandefur Browning, Jonathan Edmund Browning, and Frank Rushton]]
Browning's father [[Jonathan Browning (inventor)|Jonathan]]—who was among the thousands of [[settler|pioneers]] of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] who made an exodus from [[Nauvoo, Illinois]], to [[Utah]]—established a [[gunsmith]] shop in Ogden in 1852. As was common in the [[Mormon church]] community at the time, Jonathan Browning was a [[polygamy|polygamist]], having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children, including John Moses, and raised two stepdaughters with his wife Elizabeth Caroline Clark.<ref name="ehSYm" />

Browning worked in his father's Ogden shop from the age of seven, where he was taught basic engineering and manufacturing principles, and encouraged to experiment with new concepts. He developed his first rifle, a [[single-shot]] [[falling block action]] design while he was still his father's apprentice, then, in 1878, in partnership with his younger brother, co-founded John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company, later renamed [[Browning Arms Company]]. The company began producing the brothers' designs and other non-military firearms. By 1882, the company employed John and Matthew's half-brothers Jonathan (1859–1939), Thomas (1860–1943), William (1862–1919), and George (1866–1948).

Like his father, Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year [[mission (LDS Church)|mission]] in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] beginning on March 28, 1887.<ref name="Z4WRS" />

He married Rachel Theresa Child (September 14, 1860 – September 30, 1934) on April 10, 1879, in Ogden, Weber County, Utah Territory, and the couple had 10 children, two of whom died in infancy.<ref name="9Jjf2" />

== Firearm designs ==
[[File:John M. Browning with his Auto 5 shotgun (2).jpg|thumb|Browning with an Auto-5]]

Production examples of the Browning Model 1878 Single Shot Rifle caught the attention of the [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/the-american-west/case-41-competing-for-the-market/browning-model-1878-standard-single-shot-rifle.aspx|title = NRA Museums}}</ref> who dispatched a representative to evaluate the competition. Winchester bought the design for $8,000 and moved production to their [[Connecticut]] factory. From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with Winchester and designed a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever action [[Winchester Model 1887/1901|Winchester Model 1887]] and the [[Winchester Model 1897|Model 1897]] pump shotgun, the falling-block single-shot [[Winchester Model 1885|Model 1885]], and the lever-action [[Winchester Model 1886|Model 1886]], [[Winchester Model 1892|Model 1892]], [[Winchester Model 1894|Model 1894]], and [[Winchester Model 1895|Model 1895]] rifles. After falling out with Winchester, Browning designed the [[long recoil]] operated semi-automatic [[Remington Model 8]] rifle. Many of the models are still in production today in some form; over six million Model 1894s had been produced as of 1983, more than any other sporting rifle in history.<ref name="Wallack" />

Winchester manufactured several popular small arms designed by John M. Browning. For decades in the late 19th century-early 20th century, Browning designs and Winchester firearms were synonymous and the collaboration was highly successful. This came to an end when Browning proposed a new [[long recoil]] operated semi-automatic shotgun design, a prototype finished in 1898, to Winchester management, which ultimately became the Browning Auto-5 shotgun. As was the custom of the time, Browning's earlier designs had been sold exclusively to Winchester for a single fee payment. With this new product, Browning and his brother Matthew sought royalties based upon unit sales, rather than a single front-end fee payment. If the new shotgun became highly successful, the Browning company stood to make substantially more income. Winchester management, which had agreed to royalties for an earlier Browning shotgun design that was never manufactured, now refused to accede to the Brownings' terms. Remington Arms also was approached but the president of the company died of a heart attack while the Brownings were waiting to offer him the gun. Remington would later produce a copy of the Auto-5 as the Model 11 which was used by the US Military and was also sold to the civilian market.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gorenstein|first=Nathan|title=[[The Guns of John Moses Browning]]|publisher= Simon & Schuster| date=2021|isbn=9781982129217}}</ref>

Having recently successfully negotiated firearm licenses with [[Fabrique Nationale de Herstal]] of Belgium (FN), Browning took the new shotgun design to FN; the offer was accepted and FN manufactured the new shotgun, honoring its inventor, as the Browning Auto-5. The Browning Auto-5 was continuously manufactured as a highly popular shotgun throughout the 20th century. In response, Winchester shifted reliance away from John Browning designs when it adopted a shotgun design of [[T.C. Johnson|Thomas Crossley Johnson]] for the new Winchester Model 1911 SL, (Johnson had to work around Browning's patents of what became the Auto-5{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}) and the new Model 1912 pump shotgun, which was based in small part upon design features of the earlier Browning-designed Winchester Model 1897 shotgun. This shift marked the end of an era of Winchester-Browning collaboration.

== Later work and life ==
[[File:John Moses Browning, seated with weapon (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Browning seated with a weapon]]{{Tone|date=September 2025|section}}
John Browning was known as a dedicated and tireless innovator and experimenter who sought breakthrough consumer-oriented features and performance and reliability improvements in small arms designs. He did not retire in his later years but dedicated his entire adult life{{snd}} literally to his last day{{snd}} to these pursuits. On November 26, 1926, while working at the bench on a self-loading pistol design for [[Fabrique Nationale de Herstal]] (FN) in [[Liège]], he died of heart failure in the design shop of his son [[Val A. Browning]]. Even the 9&nbsp;mm semi-automatic pistol he was working on when he died had great design merit and was eventually completed in 1935 by Belgian designer [[Dieudonné Saive]]. Released as the Fabrique Nationale GP35, it was more popularly known as the successful [[Browning Hi-Power]] pistol, a favorite of sportsmen and gun collectors as well as many military and law enforcement agencies around the world.

The premium-priced [[Browning Superposed]] shotgun, an over-under shotgun design, was his last completed firearm design. It was marketed originally with twin triggers; a single trigger modification was later completed by his son, Val Browning. Commercially introduced in 1931 by FN, [[Browning Superposed]] shotguns, and their more affordable cousins, the [[Browning Citori]] made in Asia, continue to be manufactured into the 21st century and come with varying grades of fine hand engraving and premium quality wood.

Throughout his life, Browning designed a vast array of military and civilian small arms for his own company, as well as for [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company|Winchester]], [[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]], [[Remington Arms|Remington]], [[Savage Arms|Savage]], [[Stevens Arms|Stevens]], and [[Fabrique Nationale de Herstal]] of Belgium. Browning firearms have been made, both licensed and unlicensed, by hundreds of factories around the world. [[Browning Arms Company]] was established in 1927, the year after Browning's death on November 26, 1926, in Liège, Belgium. In 1977, FN Herstal acquired the company.

== Legacy ==

The [[M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun|M1895 Machine Gun]] saw action in the [[Spanish–American War]] with the United States Marine Corps. The [[M1911 pistol|Colt M1911]], [[M1919 Browning machine gun|Browning 1917/19]], and the [[M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle|BAR]] saw action with US forces in [[World War I]], [[World War II]], and the [[Korean War]]. The M1911 went on to serve as the U.S.'s standard military [[Sidearm (weapon)|side arm]] until 1986; a [[MEU(SOC) pistol|variant]] is still used by [[Marine Expeditionary Unit|special operations units of the United States Marine Corps]] and the design remains very popular among civilian shooters and some police departments. The [[Browning Hi-Power]] has had a similarly lengthy period of military service outside the United States. The .50 caliber [[M2 Browning machine gun]] – the enduring "Ma Deuce" – was developed in 1918, entered service with the US Armed Forces in 1921, and has remained in active service for over a century with militaries across the world in a variety of roles. The 37mm [[M4 autocannon]] was initially designed by Browning in 1921 and entered service in 1938; it was used both in aircraft and on [[U.S. Navy]] [[PT boat]]s during World War II.

== Products ==
Several of Browning's designs are still in production today. Some of his most notable designs include:

; Cartridges:
*[[.25 ACP]]
*[[.32 ACP]]
*[[.38 ACP]]
*[[.380 ACP]]
*[[.45 ACP]]
*[[.50 BMG]]
*[[9mm Browning Long]]

<!--Note: Please add only firearm name and brief description for the purposes of identifying it in context of the other weapons. Order list chronologically by introduction and/or design date. Please limit this list to firearms designed, patented, and licensed by Browning.-->
; Pistols:
*[[FN M1900|FN M1899/M1900]] (.32 ACP)
*[[Colt M1900|Colt Model 1900]] (.38 ACP)
*[[Colt M1902|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)
*[[Colt Model 1905]] (.45 ACP)
*[[FN M1905|FN Model 1906 Vest Pocket]] (.25 ACP)
*[[Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket]] (.25 ACP)
*[[Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless|Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless]] (.380 ACP)
*[[FN Model 1910]] (.32 ACP, .380 ACP)
*[[FN Model 1922]] (.32 ACP) and (.380 ACP)
*[[M1911 pistol|U.S. M1911]] pistol (.45 ACP)
*[[Browning Hi-Power]] ([[9×19mm Parabellum|9mm Parabellum]]) started by Browning but completed by [[Dieudonné Saive]] at [[FN Herstal]]
*[[Colt Woodsman]] pistol ([[.22 Long Rifle|.22 LR]])

; Shotguns:
*[[Ithaca 37|Ithaca Model 37]] pump-action repeating shotgun
*[[Stevens Model 520/620]] pump-action repeating shotgun
*[[Winchester Model 1887/1901|Winchester Model 1887]] lever-action repeating shotgun
*[[Winchester Model 1897|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, also produced as Savage Model 720
*[[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 Long 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)
*[[M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle]] (BAR)

; Machine guns:
*[[M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun]] air-cooled gas-operated machine gun
*[[M1917 Browning machine gun]] water-cooled recoil-operated machine gun
*[[M1919 Browning machine gun]] air-cooled recoil-operated machine gun
*[[M2 Browning]] machine gun [[.50 BMG|.50]]-caliber heavy machine gun
*[[M4 cannon]] 37mm Automatic Gun, work lapsed on death and not restarted until 1934

== Selected patents ==
{{columns-list|
*{{US patent|220271}} [[Winchester Model 1885 Single Shot Rifle|Winchester 1885]] single-shot rifle, Browning's first patent
*{{US patent|306577}} [[Winchester rifle#Model 1886|Winchester 1886]] and [[Winchester Model 71|Model 71]] lever-action rifles
*{{US patent|336287}} [[Winchester Model 1887/1901]] lever-action shotgun
*{{US patent|385238}} [[Winchester Model 1890|Winchester 1890]] pump-action rifle
*{{US patent|441390}} Winchester 1893 and [[Winchester Model 1897|1897]] pump-action shotguns
*{{US patent|465339}} [[Winchester Model 1892|Winchester 1892]] lever-action rifle
*{{US patent|524702}} [[Winchester Model 1894|Winchester 1894]] lever-action rifle
*{{US patent|544657}} [[M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun|Colt–Browning Model 1895]] machine gun
*{{US patent|549345}} [[Winchester Model 1895|Winchester 1895]] lever-action rifle
*{{US patent|580924}} [[Colt M1900|Colt 1900 automatic pistol]]
*{{US patent|632094}} [[Winchester rifle#Winchester Bolt Action Rifles|Winchester 1900]] bolt-action single-shot .22 rifle
*{{US patent|689283}} [[Browning Auto-5]] shotgun, also Remington Model 11 and Savage 720
*{{US patent|659786}} [[Remington Model 8]] semi-automatic rifle
*{{US patent|678937}} [[M1917 Browning machine gun]]
*{{US patent|747585}} [[Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless]] automatic pistol
*{{US patent|781765}}{{US patent|864609}} [[Stevens Model 520/620|Stevens 520]] pump-action shotgun
*{{US patent|808003}} Colt Model 1905 in [[.45 ACP]] (predecessor to the [[M1911 pistol|M1911]])
*{{US patent|947478}} FN Model 1906 and [[Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket]] in [[.25 ACP]]
*{{US patent|984519}} [[M1911 Colt pistol|Colt 1911]]
*{{US patent|1065341}} [[Browning 22 Semi-Auto rifle]] and [[Remington model 24]]
*{{US patent|1143170}} [[Remington Model 17]] and [[Ithaca 37]] pump-action shotguns
*{{US patent|1276716}} [[Colt Woodsman]]
*{{US patent|1293022}} [[Browning Automatic Rifle]] Model of 1918
*{{US patent|1424553}} FN "Trombone" pump action .22 caliber repeater (Rare in USA)
*{{US patent|1525065}} 37&nbsp;mm automatic cannons, M1 and [[M4 cannon|M4]]
*{{US patent|1578638}} [[Browning Superposed]] over/under shotgun
*{{US patent|1618510}} FN and [[Browning Hi-Power]] pistol
*{{US patent|1628226}} [[M2 Browning machine gun]] in [[.50 BMG]]
}}

== See also ==
*[[Browning Arms Company]]
*[[John Moses Browning House]]
*[[Charles Petter]]
*[[Sig Holding]]
*[[SIG Sauer]]

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Wallack">Wallack, LR. "Sixty Million Guns". 1983. In ''Gun Digest Treasury'', Harold A. Murtz, editor, DBI Books. 1994 p.190 {{ISBN|0873491564}}</ref>
<ref name="Jguqo">{{cite web |last=Pelley |first=Doug |url=http://www.dapcom.com/Temples/Headstones/browning.htm |title=Pictures of Headstones: John M. Browning |date=July 2004 |access-date=January 23, 2007 |publisher=Dapcom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205162411/http://www.dapcom.com/Temples/Headstones/browning.htm |archive-date=February 5, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="ZSzWx">{{cite book |last=Borth |first=Christy |title=Masters of Mass Production |pages=152, 156–9 |publisher=[[Bobbs-Merrill Company]] |location=Indianapolis |year=1945 |oclc=609185692 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eq9BAAAAIAAJ}}</ref>
<ref name="qSJIy">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9016723/John-Moses-Browning |title=John Moses Browning |first=Richard C. |last=Rattenbury |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=September 22, 2018 |date= |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726034355/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9016723/John-Moses-Browning |archivedate=July 26, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="NXlw8">{{cite web |quote=By 1900, over 75% of the repeating sporting arms on the United States market, both lever and pump, were of John's invention |url=http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5508.pdf |title=Browning Firearms Collection |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120215642/http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5508.pdf |archive-date=November 20, 2012 |publisher=[[The American Society of Mechanical Engineers]] |date=November 18, 1989}}</ref>
<ref name="ehSYm">[https://www.browning.com/news/articles/honor-father-of-the-father-of-modern-firearms.html Browning.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905215031/https://www.browning.com/news/articles/honor-father-of-the-father-of-modern-firearms.html |date=September 5, 2018 }} "In Honor of the Parents of 'the Father of Modern Firearms{{'"}}. Retrieved September 5, 2018.</ref>
<ref name="Z4WRS">{{cite web|title=Early Mormon Missionaries: John Moses Browning|url=https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/missionary/individual/john-moses-browning-1855?lang=eng}}</ref>
<ref name="Copy1">{{cite web|title=The World's Most Copied Pistol|date=September 2022 |url=https://gunnewsdaily.com/cz-75-review/}}</ref>
<ref name="Copy2">{{cite web|title=Best Pistol Ever: What Makes the 1911 So Good?|date=May 23, 2013|url=https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/best-pistol-ever/99656}}</ref>
<ref name="9Jjf2">[https://www.browning.com/news/articles/happy-father-s-day-john-moses-browning.html Browning] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922211716/https://www.browning.com/news/articles/happy-father-s-day-john-moses-browning.html |date=September 22, 2018 }} "Honoring 'The Father of the Browning Company{{'"}}, Browning.com. Retrieved September 22, 2018.</ref>
}}

== General sources ==
* Browning, John, and Curt Gentry (1964). [https://archive.org/details/johnmbrowningame00brow <!-- quote="John M. Browning, American Gunmaker," by Curt Gentry. --> ''John M. Browning, American Gunmaker'']. New York: Doubleday. {{oclc|1329440}}.

== External links ==
{{commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140203235316/http://theunionstation.org/index.php/museums-2/john-m-browning-firearms-museum/ The Ogden Union Station Browning Museum]
* [http://www.m1911.org/full_history.htm M-1911 Pistol History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160314020425/http://www.1911pistols.org/ 1911 Pistol Photo Reference Site Past Items Sold at Auction]

{{John Browning}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, John}}
[[Category:1855 births]]
[[Category:1926 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:Ammunition designers]]
[[Category:American gunsmiths]]
[[Category:Firearm designers]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Ogden, Utah]]
[[Category:American Mormon missionaries in the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century Mormon missionaries]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Utah]]
[[Category:Weapon designers]]