A Firearms History Timeline

7/27/2019 A Firearms History Timeline

1/8

A Firearms History Timelineby Larry Arnold

This is a timeline of events related to the development and use of firearms.

Date Event

1200 The 13th Century.

1200s Gunpowder (black powder) is reputed to be invented by the Chinese.

1214-1292 Roger Bacon. An early English experimenter with black powder.1240 The Battle of Ain Jalut, first recorded use of cannon.

1248 Roger Bacon describes the composition of black powder.


1346 Gunpowder manufactured in the Tower of London.


1430 The culverin, a two-man hand-held cannon, fielded by the French.

1440s The Janissary corps of the Ottoman army were using matchlock arms.


1500s The Damascus barrel developed in the Near East.

Circa 1500 The button lock was the first improvement on the match lock, and the first "trigger."Late 1500s Spring air guns were invented.

1503 Spain uses the "pike and shot" formation in the Battle of Cerignola, the first battle won by gunpowder-basedsmall arms.

Circa 1517 The wheellock was invented in Nuremburg.

1526 Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A is formed in Italy. Oldest continuously operating manufacturer in theworld.

Circa 1580 The Snaphaunce flintlocks were developed.


Early 1600s Pneumatic air guns introduced.

1600s The blunderbus was introduced.

Circa 1600 The dog lock, which featured a safety to secure the half cock position, was developed.

1639 Rhode Island colony passed law limiting deer season.


1750 Contriner of Vienna designed a 15 shot compressed air gun.

1750 The first Kentucky rifles were manufactured on the American frontier.

1758-1836 Ezekiel Baker. English gunsmith who produced the Baker rifle.

1760s The "Brown Bess" British musket was standardized.

1761-1883 Nicholas Noel Boutet. A famous French gunsmith known for his artistic decoration of firearms.

1763 Eli Whitney founded the Whitney Arms Company, which applied mass production techniques to riflemanufacture.

1775 Committees of Safety began providing arms to American patriots.

1775 John Wilkinson builds the first true boring machine, making bored rifle barrels possible.

4-19-1775 British Redcoats and Minutemen at Concord, Massachusetts fire the "shot heard 'round the world."

9-9-1776 The first rifles were issued with the mark "U.S."

1777 Springfield Armory founded as the first U.S. federal armory to manufacture firearms.

1786-1868 Henry Deringer, Jr. He developed the short-barreled, powerful pistol which became the "Derringer." Note theshift in spelling.

12-15-1791 The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution adopted to protect the right to keep and bear arms.

5-2-1792 The First Militia Act gave the U.S. President authority to call on the states' militias.

5-8-1792 The Second Militia Act provided for organizing state militias.


2/8

Date Event


c1800-1893 Hiram Berdan. Army officer and arms maker who invented the Berdan primer and perfected a method ofdrawing brass to make the first centerfire cartridge.

1802 The Baker flintlock rifle introduced in England.

1805-1879 Jonathan Browning, an American gunmaker and father of John Moses Browning.

1808-1871 Ethan Allen. A gunmaker, he was famous for pepperbox pistols. (Not the Revolutionary War Allen)

1809-1870 Robert Adams. The English gunmakers 5 shot self cocking revolver competed with the more famous Colt.

1811 The Hall rifle was patented. It is considered the first successful breechloader.

1811-1873 Horace E. Dimick. American gunmaker noted for guns used in the Old West.

1813 Joseph G. Chambers patented the Chambers system, which allowed several cartridges to be loaded in afirearm so that the ignition of one set off the next, an early "automatic."

1814-1862 Samuel Colt. American firearm designer and manufacturer best known for the Colt revolver.

1816 Eliphalet Remington, Jr. made his first rifle; the beginning of the Remington Arms Company.

1819-1894 Alexander Henry. He invented the rifling system for the Martini-Henry Rifle.

1822 The percussion cap was patented in the U.S.

1823-1894 James Henry Burton. American gunmaker best known for perfecting the Minie ball.

1823-1898 Edward M. Boxer. In the 1860s invented the Boxer primer.

1831 The first Colt revolvers were manufactured.

1833-1905 Antoine Alphonse Chassepot. French gunmaker known for inventing the Chassepot needle gun.

1834 Slide-action repeater produced by Jonathan Browning in Quincy, Illinois.

1835 Samuel Colt patented the Colt revolver in England, the first revolver with the cylinder revolved and locked bycocking the hammer.

1836 Samuel Colt patented the Colt revolver in the U.S.

1837 George Elgin patented the Elgin cutlass pistol.

1838 Frederick Haviland and Epentus A. Bennett patent their breechloading rifle.

1838 Epentus A. Bennett and Frederick Haviland patent their breechloading rifle.

1838-1914 Peter Paul Mauser. Invented the Mauser action.

1840 The Prussian Army adopted the Dreyse needle gun.1851 Christian Sharps founded the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company.

1851 Dr. Edward Maynard introduced a cartridge consisting of a brass tube with powder and bullet. The tube hada hole in the side where the powder was ignited.

1852 Christian Sharps invented the disk primer.

1852 Jonathan Browning, father of John Moses Browning, established his gunsmihing shop in Ogden Utah.

1853 The Royal Enfield Manufactury of Great Britain began production of Enfield rifles and carbines.

1854 Daniel Baird Wesson and Horace Smith manufacture the Volcanic Action Repeating Pistol, the first practicalpistol with self-contained ammunition.

1854 Daniel Baird Wesson and Horace Smith manufacture the Volcanic Action Repeating Pistol, the first practicalpistol with self-contained ammunition.

1855 Rollin White patented a revolver with chambers bored end-to-end through the cylinder. The design led to theSmith & Wesson cartridge revolver.

1855 Sir Henry Bessimer invented Bessimer steel.

1855-1926 John Moses Browning. He was the inventor of more successful firearms than any other American, includingthe Browning Automatic Rifle and the Browning machine-gun.

1856 Ambrose Everett Burnside invented the Burnside breechloading percussion rifle.

1856 The LeMat, a Civil War Confederate revolver with a shotgun barrel, patented by Jean Alexander FrancoisLeMat.

1859 Smith & Wesson produced the first complete rimfire cartridge.

1860 B. Tyler Henry patented the .44 Henry Rifle.


3/8

Date Event

1860 Oliver F. Winchester started the New Haven Arms Company, which later became the Winchester RepeatingArms Company. At one time it was the biggest arms manufacturer in the world.

1860-1926 Annie Oakley Butler. A famous rifle shot who appeared in the U.S. and Europe with the Buffalo Bill WildWest Show.

1861 C.H. Ballard patented the breechloading Ballard rifle.

1861 Hiram Berdan became Colonel of the 1st United States Sharpshooters.

1865 U.S. military issues the U.S. Rifle Model 1865 using the cam lock designed by E.S. Allen.

1866 The French Army adopted the Chassepot rifle, a breech loading, bolt action needle gun.

1868 Air hardened steel developed by Robert F. Mushet.

1868 Charles Parker manufactured the first Parker shotguns.

1869 Marcellus Hartley and Col. Henry Berdan developed the first centerfire cartridge.

1869 Col. Henry Berdan and Marcellus Hartley developed the first centerfire cartridge.

1869 John Wesley Hyatt patented a nitrocellulose plastic,"Celluloid."

1870 J.M. Marlin founded Marlin Firearms Company in New Haven Connecticut.

1871 The Colt House Pistol was the first revolver designed for cartridges.

1871 The Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts.

11-17-1871 The National Rifle Association was chartered in New York.

1872 Anson forend, used to fasten double barrel shotgun barrels, developed by William Anson.

1873-1940 The Colt Single Action Army revolver, also known as the "Peacemaker" was in initial production. It has sincebeen reintroduced to the Colt line.

4-25-1873 First shots fired at the NRA's first shooting range at Creedmoor, New York.

6-21-1873 First NRA shooting match held at Creedmoor.

1874 Harrington & Richardson, Inc. established by Gilbert Harrington and William Richardson.

1874 Harrington & Richardson, Inc. established by Gilbert Harrington and William Richardson.

3-27-1876 United States v. Cruikshank decided, ruling that the Second Amendment "has no other effect than to restrictthe powers of the national government."

1877 The Colt Lightning was the first practical double action revolver.

10-7-1879 John Browning patented his first firearm, a single-shot falling-block rifle.1880 Clay pigeon targets patented in the U.S. by George Likowsky.

1886 Joshua Stevens incorporated the J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company.

1-4-1886 Presser v. Illinois decided, reaffirming the Cruikshank decision that the Second Amendment acts as alimitation upon only the federal government.

1887 Swedish defence adopted Nagants 7.5 mm black powder Revolver.

1887 The Model 1887 lever action, the first truly successful repeating shotgun, designed by John Browning forWinchester Arms,

1889 Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre established in 1889 in Herstal, Belgium

1890 Hugo Borchardt, an American inventor, developed a successful self-loading pistol with a toggle bolt, theforerunner of the Luger.

1890 The French military adopted the Berthier bolt action rifle.1891 The Italian Army adopted the Mannlicher-Carcano, the first Italian smokeless powder rifle.

9-1-1891 Last NRA shooting match held at Creedmoor.

9-5-1892 First NRA shooting match held at Sea Girt Range, New Jersey.

1893 Theodore Bergmann, a German inventor, patented an automatic pistol.

1894 Arthur W. Savage incorporated the Savage Arms Company.

1894 Swedish cavalry adopted Mauser 1894 small ring carbine in 6.5x55mm.

1894 John Browning designed the Model 1894 lever action rifle for Winchester. More have been produced thanany centerfire sporting rifle in history.

1895 .30 W.C.F. (.30-30 Winchester, first sporting cartridge designed expressly for smokeless powder.


4/8

Date Event

1895 Enfield rifling adopted for the British .303 Lee-Enfield rifle.

1895 North Dakota required hunters to buy licenses.

1895 The Interstate Association formed to regulate trap shooting. Became the American TrapshootingAssociation.

1895 The Colt-Browning M1895, (Potato digger) machine gun by John Browning, was one of the first successfulgas operated machine guns.

1896 Swedish defence adopted Mauser 1894 small ring rifle in 6.5x55.

1897 The Model 1897, the first truly successful pump shotgun, designed by John Browning for Winchester Arms,

1898 The Browning Automatic 5, designed by John Browning, was the first successful semi-automatic shotgun.


1900 Congress passed law prohibiting shipping wild game across state lines.

6-12-1900 The first trap throwing of clay pigeons took place in New York.

1902 The 1902 Colt Military Automatic Pistol was used by the U.S. Navy while waiting for the Model 1911.

1903 The Springfield Rifle, Model 1903, adopted by the U.S. military.

1904 Theodore Roosevelt made the biological survey a bureau.

1906 U.S. military adopts .30-06 cartridge for use in M1903 Springfield rifle.

8-27-1906 First NRA Junior matches held at Sea Girt Range.

9-5-1906 Mrs. Elizabeth Topperwein becomes the first woman to enter an official NRA shooting match, and received aNational Marksmans Reserve medal.

9-5-1906 Last NRA national matches held at Sea Girt.

1907 J. Browning pistol Model 1903 adopted by Swedish defence in 9mm long.

8-19-1907 First NRA national matches held at Camp Perry, Ohio.

1908 The .32 caliber Austrian Scharzlose was introduced. It is the only commercially produced blow forwardaction.

1908 The first organized trapshooting tournaments were held.

1911 The Model 1911 in .45 ACP, designed by John Browning, adopted by the U.S. military.

1917 The U.S. Rifle, Model 1917, or American Enfield, produced as a modification of the British rifle to allow useof American ammunition.

1918 The Browning Automatic Rifle, designed by John Browning, adopted by the U.S. military.

1919 American Ordinance Association founded.

1921 The Colt .45 automatic was modified and became the Model 1911 A1.

1921 The Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun, (Ma Deuce), designed by John Browning, entered U.S. militaryservice. It remains in service, the longest serving firearm iin history.

1923 New Hampshire Concealed Carry law passes.

Apr. 1925 The comparison microscope was first used in firearms identification.

1928 Seth Gordon wrote the Code of Outdoor Ethics for the Isaac Walton League.

1929 Migratory Bird Conservation Act passed.

1929 Production rights for the Cutts compensator were bought by the Lyman Gun Sight Company from the

inventor, Col. Richard M. Cutts.1929 John C. Garand developed the M-1 semiautomatic rifle.

1930 First known release of exotics, nilgai antelope, in Texas.

1933 Aldo Leopold became the first professor of game management.

1933 Western Cartridge Company manufactured ball powder, which is less erosive on barrels.

1934 Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act passed.

1934 The Beretta 9mm became the official handgun of the Italian military.

6-26-1934 National Firearms Act regulated machineguns, silencers, and short-barreled rifles and shotguns.

1935 Lathis pistol was adopted by the Finish army and mfg at Valmeth.

1936 The Enfield revolver adopted as the official pistol of the British Army.


5/8

Date Event

1936 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed.

1936 Alabama Concealed Carry law passes.

1-9-1936 US Military adopts self-loading M-1 Rifle, designed by John C. Garand at Springfield Armory.

1937 Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid Restoration Act passed to provide funds for wildlife management by taxingfirearms and ammunition.

1939 Walter P.38 adopted by Swedish army.

5-15-1939 United States v. Miller decided upholding the National Firearms Act, ruling that a short-barrelled shotgun isnot a militia weapon.

1940 Lathis pistol was adopted by the Swedish defence and manufacturing started in Husqvarna factories.

1940 Swedish army adopted Mauser 1898 in 8x63mm.

1942 Swedish army adopted Ljungman automatic rifle in 6.5x55.

1945 Russian Military adopts Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov's SKS rifle as the SKS-45.

1946 American Single Shot Rifle Association founded.

1946 Hunter Education started in a Kentucky statewide youth program.

1947 Russian military adopts the AK-47.

1948 NRA began providing a temporary supply of hunter safety instructors.

1949 New York starts first mandatory hunter safety program.

1950 Dingell-Johnson Act passed to produce funds for fisheries management.

1954 California hunter education program became mandatory.

1955 Arizona hunter education program became mandatory.

1955 The first replica black powder firearms were manufactured by Turner Kirkland of Dixie Gun Works.

1956 Rhode Island hunter education program became mandatory.

1956 South Dakota hunter education program became mandatory.

Mar. 1956 The Army Marksmanship Unit was formed.

1957 Connecticut hunter education program became mandatory.

1957 Washington hunter education program became mandatory.

1958 Montana hunter education program became mandatory.

1958 Navy Arms Company founded to manufacture replica arms. The first to use stainless steel in replicas.

1959 The first M-16 Rifles were delivered to the U.S. Army.

1961 Washington Concealed Carry law passes.

1962 Oregon hunter education program became mandatory.

1963 New Hampshire hunter education program became mandatory.

1966 Endangered Species Act passed.

6-23-1966 Holless Wilbur Allen, Jr. applies for patent on the compound bow

8-1-1996 University of Texas student kills 16, wounds 31

1-29-1968 Haynes v. United States decided, ruling that the Fifth Amendment exempts felons and other prohibitedpossessors from any U.S. gun registration scheme.

6-19-1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act prohibited interstate trade in handguns and increased theminimum age to 21 for buying handguns.

10-22-1968 Gun Control Act of 1968 signed into law, requiring serial numbers, limiting interstate firearm sales, denyingownership by felons and others, and limiting importation of "non-sporting" guns.

10-22-1968 Gun Control Act of 1968 signed into law, requiring serial numbers, limiting interstate firearm sales, denyingownership by felons and others, and limiting importation of "non-sporting" guns.

1969 National Environmental Protection Act passed.

1969 Pennsylvania hunter education program became mandatory.

1969 Connecticut Handgun Review Board created to control arbitrary concealed carry denials.

1970 10% tax on handguns was added to Pittman-Robertson funding.


6/8

Date Event

1970 Colorado hunter education program became mandatory.

1970 Delaware hunter education program became mandatory.

1970 Environmental Protection Agency founded.

5-4-1970 Four students were killed and nine wounded by National Guard troops called in to quell anti-war protests

5-14-1970 At Jackson State College, Jackson City Police and Mississippi Highway Patrol officers opened fire on agroup of somewhat violent student protesters, killing two students and injuring twelve.

1971 Connecticut Valley Arms manufactures a replica black powder firearm.

1971 Michigan hunter education program became mandatory.

1972 11% tax on archery equipment added to Pittman-Robertson funding.

1972 New Jersey hunter education program became mandatory.

1972 New Mexico hunter education program became mandatory.

1973 Kansas hunter education program became mandatory.

1973 Nevada hunter education program became mandatory.

1975 Vermont hunter education program became mandatory.

1976 Illinois hunter education program became mandatory.

1976 Nebraska hunter education program became mandatory.

1976 Remington introduced the Accelerator cartridge, using a sabot to shoot a small caliber high-velocity bullet.

1976 Georgia passes concealed carry law that becomes the model for Florida.

1977 Maryland hunter education program became mandatory.

1978 Georgia hunter education program became mandatory.

1979 North Dakota hunter education program became mandatory.

1979 Ohio hunter education program became mandatory.

1979 Wyoming hunter education program became mandatory.

1980 Idaho hunter education program became mandatory.

1980 Indiana Concealed Carry law passes.

1983 Iowa hunter education program became mandatory.

1984 Mississippi hunter education program became mandatory.

1984 The first Olympic 10K biathlon and 30K relay biathlon.

Fall 1984 American Shooting Coaches Association formed; became the International Shooting Coaches Association.

1985 Arkansas hunter education program became mandatory.

1985 Louisiana hunter education program became mandatory.

1985 Tennessee hunter education program became mandatory.

1985 Wisconsin hunter education program became mandatory.

1985 Maine concealed Carry law passes.

1985 North Dakota Concealed Carry law passes.

1986 Maine hunter education program became mandatory.

1986 South Dakota Concealed Carry law passes.

5-19-1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act passed, providing for "safe passage" through gun control jurisdictions andprohibiting national gun registration.

1987 Florida Concealed Carry law becomes effective.

1988 Missouri hunter education program became mandatory.

1988 Oklahoma hunter education program became mandatory.

1988 Texas hunter education program became mandatory.

1988 Virginia hunter education program became mandatory.

1989 Oregon Concealed Carry law passes.

1989 Pennsylvania Concealed Carry law passes (except for Philadelphia).


7/8

Date Event

1989 West Virginia Concealed Carry law passes.

1990 Hawaii hunter education program became mandatory.

1990 Idaho Concealed Carry law passes.

1990 Mississippi Concealed Carry law passes.

1990 The .40 S&W cartridge introduced.

11-29-1990 The Gun-Free School Zones Act enacted, using the Commerce Clause to ban guns in and around schools.Later found unconstitutional.

1991 Florida hunter education program became mandatory.

1991 Kentucky hunter education program became mandatory.

1991 North Carolina hunter education program became mandatory.

1991 Montana Concealed Carry law passes.

11-30-1993 President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act creating a U.S. nationalbackground check system for firearms.

1994 Alaska Concealed Carry law passes.

1994 Arizona Concealed Carry law passes.

1994 Tennessee Concealed Carry law passes.

1994 Wyoming Concealed Carry law passes.

2-28-1994 The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act went into effect, creating a U.S. national background checksystem for firearms, and instituting a 5-day waiting period on handguns.

9-13-1994 The Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed, creating a definition of "assault weapon," banning new sales for10 years, and limiting magazines to 10 rounds.

1995 Arkansas Concealed Carry law passes.

1995 North Carolina Concealed Carry law passes.

1995 Oklahoma Concealed Carry law passes.

1995 Nevada Concealed Carry law passes.

1995 Utah Concealed Carry law passes.

1995 Virginia Concealed Carry law passes.

1995 Philidelphia brought under Pennsylvania Concealed Carry law.4-26-1995 United States v. Lopez decided, holding that the Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional.

9-1-1995 Texas begins CHL training.

1-1-1996 Texas Concealed Carry law becomes effective.

1996 Kentucky Concealed Carry law passes.

1996 Louisiana Concealed Carry law passes.

1996 West Virginia Concealed Carry law passes again, having been struck down by the state Supreme Court.

1996 South Carolina Concealed Carry law passes.

9-30-1997 Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban (Lautenberg Amendment) went into effect, prohibiting firearmspossession by persons convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or under protective orders.

6-27-1997 Printz v. United States was decided, ruling that the Brady Law requirement for local law enforcement to runbackground checks for gun purchases was unconstitutional.

11-30-1998 The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act 5-day waiting period on handguns expired as the NationalInstant Check System came online.

4-20-1999 Two Columbine High School students kill 12 students and one teacher, wound 23

2000 The 21st Century.

1-1-2000 California handgun testing law went into effect

7-1-2001 Michigan concealed carry law becomes effective.

5-17-2002 Colorado concealed carry law becomes effective.

2003 Minnesota concealed carry law passed.

6-11-2003 Alaska no-license carry passed.


8/8

Date Event

10-11-2003 Missouri concealed carry law becomes effective.

11-26-2003 New Mexico concealed carry law becomes effective.

2004 Ohio concealed carry law passed.

9-13-2004 The Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired.

2006 Iowa concealed carry law passed.

4-5-2006 Nebraska concealed carry law passed.

10-2-2006 Active killer invades West Nickel Mines School, kills 5 girls and wounds five1-1-2007 Kansas concealed carry law becomes effective.

4-16-2007 Virginia Tech student kills 32

May, 2007 Chris Brown starts Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

3-18-2008 Oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Heller v. D.C.

6-27-2008 Supreme Court defines Second Amendment as an individual right in Heller v. D.C.

5-22-2009 Congress passed law allowing firearms in U.S. National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, as permittedby state laws.

12-16-2009 Congress passed law requiring Amtrak to allow firearms to be checked in baggage.

2-22-2010 Firearms allowed in U.S. National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, as permitted by state laws.

3-2-2010 Oral arguments before the Supreme Court in McDonald v. Chicago

6-28-2010 Supreme Court incorporates Second Amendment against the states in McDonald v. Chicago

7-29-2010 Arizona no-license carry in effect

12-15-2010 Wicker Amendment allows Amtrak passengers to check their firearms

7-1-2011 Wyoming no-license carry in effect

11-1-2011 Wisconsin shall-issue concealed carry law in effect

Talon Enterprises, 2011, Larry Arnold. Page updated 11/11/2011 .
http://www.talonsite.com/tlineevent_1.htm

A Firearms History Timeline

Documents

Transcript of A Firearms History Timeline