John Bell Blish (September 8, 1860 – December 22, 1921) was an American inventor known primarily for developing the

Blish lock The Blish lock is a breech locking mechanism designed by John Bell Blish based upon his assumption that under extreme pressures, certain dissimilar metals would resist movement with a force greater than friction laws would predict. In modern e ...

, used in the

Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, Magazine-fed rifle, magazine-fed Selective fire, selective-fire subm ...

, more commonly known as the "Tommy Gun." Blish licensed the patent for his lock to the Auto-Ordnance Corporation in 1915 in return for company stock. Blish was a career United States naval officer, serving as

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

on the U.S. warships ''Niagara'' and ''Vicksburg'' (PG-11) during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. He retired from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

with the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in 1919. Blish was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Namesake

The USS ''John Blish'', a survey ship commissioned during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, was named after him.

External links

''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'': ''John Blish''The Unofficial Tommy Gun Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blish, John Bell 1860 births 1921 deaths 20th-century American inventors American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Navy officers

Namesake

External links

References