Gunsmith, firearms designer, and industrialist 1838–1914
Paul Mauser
Co-developed the Model 1871 and led later Mauser rifle work culminating in the Gewehr 98.
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Biographies of the people who shaped firearms design, use, history, and culture.
Gunsmith, firearms designer, and industrialist 1834–1882
Wilhelm Mauser
Co-developed the Mauser Model 1871 and helped found Gebrüder Mauser & Cie.
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Firearms inventor and designer
John Moses Browning
Designed more than 100 firearms, including the M1911 pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle, and M2 .50-caliber machine gun.
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Firearms inventor and industrialist
Samuel Colt
Patented the Colt revolver and built a firearms company around interchangeable manufacturing and mass production.
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Markswoman and performer
Annie Oakley
Became an internationally known rifle markswoman through competition, exhibition shooting, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
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Actor and firearms advocate
Charlton Heston
Used his public platform to discuss firearms ownership and served as president of the National Rifle Association.
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Engineer and rifle designer
John C. Garand
Designed the M1 Garand, the U.S. military's first standard-issue semiautomatic service rifle.
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President, hunter, and conservationist
Theodore Roosevelt
Connected hunting, conservation, military service, and public leadership in the development of modern American gun culture.
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Austrian engineer and firearms industrialist 1929-2023
Gaston Glock
Founded GLOCK and helped develop the polymer-frame Glock service pistol.
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