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Jean Cantius Garand (; January 1, 1888 – February 16, 1974), also known as John C. Garand, was a Québec-born American designer of
firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
who created the
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World W ...
, a
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-ac ...
that was widely used by the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
and
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
during both World War II and the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{{ ...
.


Early life

Garand was one of twelve children (six boys and six girls) born on a farm near St. Rémi, Quebec. His father moved to Jewett City, Connecticut, with the children when their mother died in 1899. All of the boys had the first name St. Jean le Baptiste, but only he went by the first name Jean. The other boys went by their middle names. Several of his brothers were also inventors. The children were employed in a
textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
where Jean learned to speak English while sweeping floors. Jean became interested in guns and learned to shoot after working at a
shooting gallery Shooting gallery may refer to: Firearms and amusements * Shooting gallery (carnival game), a facility for shooting live firearms or for shooting recreational guns within amusement parks, arcades, carnivals, or fairgrounds *Shooting range, is a ...
. Jean learned machinist skills while working at the textile mill, and was hired by Browne and Sharpe, a
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts B ...
, toolmaking company in 1909. Later, he found employment with a New York toolmaking firm in 1916, and resumed rifle practice at the shooting galleries along Broadway. Garand became a naturalized United States citizen in 1920. Pronunciation of the name "Garand" is often disputed, being pronounced variably as or . Descendants of John Garand and his close friend General
Julian Hatcher Julian Sommerville Hatcher (June 26, 1888 – December 4, 1963), was a U.S. Army major general, noted firearms expert and author of the early twentieth century. He is credited with several technical books and articles relating to military ...
generally agree that it is the latter, rhyming approximately with 'errand'.


Designer of firearms

Garand's fondness for machinery and
target shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...
blended naturally into a hobby of designing guns, which took a more vocational turn in 1917. That year the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
took bids on designs for a
light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the s ...
, and Garand's design was eventually selected by the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence {{u ...
. Garand was appointed to a position with the
United States Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...
in
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, N ...
with the task of perfecting the weapon. The first model was not built until 1919, too late for use in World War I, but the government kept employing Garand as an engineer with the
Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...
starting from November 4, 1919 until he retired in 1953. In
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
, Garand was tasked with designing a basic gas-actuated self-loading infantry rifle and carbine that would eject the spent cartridge and reload a new round based on a gas-operated system. Designing a rifle that was practical in terms of effectiveness, reliability, and production, stretched over time; it took fifteen years to perfect the M1 prototype model to meet all the U.S. Army specifications. The resulting ''Semiautomatic, Caliber .30, M1 Rifle'' was patented by Garand in 1932, approved by the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
on January 9, 1936, and went into mass production in 1940. It replaced the
bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first u ...
and became the standard infantry rifle known as the ''Garand Rifle''. During World War II, over four million M1 rifles were manufactured. The Garand Rifle proved to be an effective and reliable weapon and was praised by
General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...
.
General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
wrote, "In my opinion, the M1 rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised." In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Garand had designed and built a prototype
bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, more compact, conc ...
rifle. It fired the same cartridge as the M1, but the magazine, action and shape were completely different. It was a
select-fire Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire w ...
design, and had a firing rate of about 600rpm. When Garand retired in 1953, the second version of the T31 was incomplete, and remained so. The project was scrapped, and the gun was retired to the Springfield Armory museum in 1961. Garand never received any royalties from his M1 rifle design despite over six and a half million M1 rifles being manufactured as he transferred all rights regarding his inventions to the U.S. on January 20, 1936.Genius of Springfield
''Springfield Armory National Historic Site, NPS''
A bill was introduced in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
to award him $100,000 in appreciation, but it did not pass. Garand remained in his consulting position with the Springfield Armory until his retirement in 1953.


Personal life

Garand married French Canadian widow Nellie Bruce Shepard (August 3, 1900 – February 25, 1986) on September 6, 1930 in Albany, New York. She had two daughters by her previous marriage, and they had a daughter and a son of their own. Garand died in
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
, on February 16, 1974, and was buried at Hillcrest Park Cemetery there.


Recognition

For his work with the Springfield Armory, Garand was awarded the
Meritorious Civilian Service Award The Meritorious Civilian Service Award is commonly the highest award granted by U.S. Army Commanders (Major General and above, or civilian equivalent). The Award and Medal is provided to civilian employees within agencies of the federal governmen ...
in 1941, the Alexander L. Holley Medal from the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via " continuin ...
, and the first
Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States. It was awarded by the President of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct i ...
(together with
Albert Hoyt Taylor Albert Hoyt Taylor (January 1, 1879 in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, IL – December 11, 1961 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, CA) was an American electrical engineer who made important early contributions to the development of radar. Biog ...
) on March 28, 1944. In 1973, Garand was inducted into the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame for designing the
M1 Rifle The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World W ...
or ''The Garand''.The U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame
/ref> The Hall of Fame entry acknowledges both Garand's inventive genius and engineering skills:


References


Further reading


He Invented the World's Deadliest Rifle
''Popular Science'', December 1940. *Thomas A. Bruscino Jr. Chapter 1. M1 Garand Rifle. In: Jon T. Hoffman, (Ed.).
A history of innovation: U.S. Army adaptation in war and peace
.'' Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 2009, pp. 5–14.


External links

*
Springfield Armory Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garand, John C. 1888 births 1974 deaths People from Montérégie Canadian people of French descent Firearm designers Medal for Merit recipients People from Jewett City, Connecticut Canadian emigrants to the United States