Browning
Browning grips
Browning Arms Company traces its roots to 1878 in Ogden, Utah, when legendary inventor John Moses Browning (born January 23, 1855) and his brother Matthew Sandefur Browning founded the John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company (later Browning Brothers). John, son of gunsmith Jonathan Browning (who settled in Utah in 1852), built his first gun at age 11 and his first original rifle in 1878—patented October 7, 1879, as the Winchester Model 1885 Single Shot
John's genius produced over 128 patents, including icons like the Colt M1911 pistol (1911), Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR, 1917), Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun (1918–1921), and Auto-5 shotgun (1900, first semi-auto). Designs were licensed to Winchester, Colt, Remington, FN Herstal (Belgium partnership from 1897), and others, revolutionizing military and civilian firearms
After John's death on November 26, 1926, in Liège, Belgium, the family formally incorporated Browning Arms Company in 1927 as a marketer of his sporting designs, expanding into fishing gear. Acquired by FN Herstal in 1977, it remains a premier brand for shotguns, rifles, and pistols, blending American innovation with global manufacturing
