Val Allen Browning (August 20, 1895 – May 16, 1994) was an American industrialist, philanthropist, and third-generation gunmaker. He was president of the

Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and M ...

Early life

Browning was born in Ogden,

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

on August 20, 1895. His grandfather, Jonathan Browning, opened a gun shop in Ogden in 1852."By 1900, over 75% of the repeating sporting arms on the United States market, both lever and pump, were of John's invention.
Browning Firearms Collection
brochure from The American Society of Mechanical Engineers His father,

John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He ...

, is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Browning graduated from Ogden High School in 1913 and later studied law and engineering at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. As a young man he worked in the shop his grandfather had opened. In 1918, Browning was commissioned as a second lieutenant with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served with the 79th Infantry Division at

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

during World War I.

Career

In 1920, he became the manager of the manufacturing of

guns in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and served as his father's representative to

Fabrique Nationale de Herstal , trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale, or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium, and former vehicle manufacturer. It was the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe . FN ...

. Upon his father's death in 1926, Browning had the responsibility of completing the projects that were not finished by his father, including the Browning Superposed shotgun and the Browning Hi-Power pistol (GP-35) (the latter in cooperation with his father's Belgian assistant, Dieudonné Saive). In 1935, he returned to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

as president of

. Browning received 48 gun patents during his career. In 1955, he was awarded Knighthood in the

Order of Léopold The Order of Leopold (, , ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a mari ...

by King Baudouin of

for an "outstanding contribution to the Gun Making Art." Browning spent his career representing business interests in the United States and Europe. In addition to chairing Browning Arms, he served as director of the First Security Corporation, Utah International, Amalgamated Sugar Company, and the Mountain Fuel Supply Company. Through the 1940s purchase of some of W. L. Wattis' founding shares in

Utah Construction Company The Utah Construction Company was a construction company founded by Edmund Orson Wattis Jr., Warren L. Wattis and William. H. Wattis in 1900. History The Wattis Brothers received funding from David Eccles, Thomas Dee, Joseph Clark and Jam ...

, Browning shared in the substantial gains in the sale of Utah International.

Personal life

In 1924, Browning married Ann Chaffin (1901–1975) of

Farmington, Utah Farmington is a city in, and county seat of, Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 24,531 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Lagoon Amusement Park and Station Park (Farmington, Utah), Station Park transit-oriented ...

. They had four children. They lived in

until 1935 when they returned to

. He was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Browning was a benefactor of Dixie College and

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

. His substantial collection of European fine art formed the basis of the

Utah Museum of Fine Arts The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) is a state and university art museum located in downtown Salt Lake City on the University of Utah campus. Housed in the Marcia and John Price Museum Building near Rice-Eccles Stadium, the museum holds a permane ...

masterwork paintings. Browning died May 16, 1994, and was buried at Lindquist Washington Heights Memorial Park in Ogden, Utah.

References

Bibliography

* Schwing, Neil. The Browning Superposed, John M. Browning's Last Legacy.

External links

Val A. Browning Center

Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Obituary of son
John Val Browning - ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

''
US2401903A – Repeating firearm

US2385057A – Firing mechanism for repeating firearms

US2341204A – Sight for firearms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, Val A. 1895 births 1994 deaths Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Utah Tech University people Firearm designers Businesspeople from Ogden, Utah Businesspeople from Utah Weber State University people Latter Day Saints from Utah United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I Cornell Law School alumni 20th-century American inventors 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople Military personnel from Utah