A small tribute to John Moses Browning

[utbagpiper]

KSL is running a series on Utah's inventors each Wednesday. Today's article pays tribute to Utah's own John Moses Browning and some of the firearms he invented including the Winchester 1894, the 1911, and the .50 caliber machine gun.

A small tidbit from the article:

Browning was born in Ogden in 1855, the son of a gunsmith. His father, Jonathan, developed a repeating rifle in 1831 and came to Utah with the pioneers. Browning worked in his father's gunsmith shop starting in 1876 and soon patented his first design in 1878 at age 23.

When John designed and patented a better gun in 1879, his father built it. That kind of fatherly respect seemed to have had a big impact on Browning's life.

...

Browning said of his life that "one drop of genius and a barrel of sweat wrought this miracle."

...

Browning firearms still has a small facility that employs about 200 people in Mountain Green, which is located in Morgan County.

The Browning Firearm Museum at Ogden's Union Station has an extensive collection of his work and includes Browning's workshop. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The cost is $5 for adults and $4 for students and seniors. Children, ages 3-12, are charged $3. If you go, plan on spending many hours there because the Station also houses an art gallery, a classic car and a railroad and cowboy museum.

Would that all of his designs were lawful for manufacture, purchase, and ownership by all law abiding citizens without need for paperwork, licenses, or regard to what date a gun was built.

Charles

 

[b0neZ]

Good read! I was just at the museum about 5 days ago. Considering becoming a member there.