The creator of the one of the most popular handguns ever made passed away on December 27, 2023.
Glock’s cause of death was not immediately clear.
Gaston Glock became a billionaire from the creation that bore his name and will go down in this history books as one of the greatest gun inventors of all time.
The Glock Company announced its founder’s death on its website, where it lauded Glock for revolutionizing the world of small arms, especially in the 1980s, when the ubiquitous pistol first hit the market.
The semi-automatic handgun has since become the weapon of choice for armed forces, law enforcement officials, criminals and gun enthusiasts worldwide, with more than 50 Glock pistols in a variety of sizes, calibers and styles now on offer.
Glock, an Austrian engineer, founded his weapons manufacturing company in 1963 with little experience with guns at the time aside from his time as a conscript in Hitler’s Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, according to the New York Times.
He invented the Glock pistol in a metalworking shop in his garage, where he had been manufacturing knives and curtain rods.
Glock (at left in 1988) founded his weapons manufacturing company in 1963 and released the first iteration of the semi-automatic handgun in 1985.
The original Glock was reportedly made of a nylon-based polymer frame instead of traditional steel, with the capacity to carry up to 17 rounds of ammunition.
Today, a Glock’s makeup is quite similar, with a combination of steel and that same polymer mixture — known as Polymer 2, also invented by Glock.
A Glock’s standard capacity also now ranges from nine to 15 rounds, with a controversial “Safe Action System” consisting of three mechanical safeties that make the gun ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
“His life’s work will continue in his spirit,” Glock’s company wrote on its website.
