Georg Johann Luger (March 6, 1849 – December 22, 1923) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

designer of the famous

Luger pistol The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 ...

and the

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname) Ca ...

Early life and military service

Georg Luger was born in

Steinach am Brenner Steinach am Brenner is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located south of Innsbruck in the Wipptal at the Sill River. Geography Steinach am Brenner is located in Wipptal, along the Sill River Valley at ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

to Dr. Bartholomaeus von Luger, a surgeon. After Georg's birth, his family moved to Italy, where Dr. Luger taught at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

. Georg grew up with Italian as his second mother tongue and finished ''

Grundschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarten, Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all child ...

'' (

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) and '' Gymnasium'' (

university-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where t ...

) in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. After graduation, his parents sent him to Vienna, where he studied at the ''Wiener Handelsakademie'' (Vienna Commercial Academy), the predecessor to today's

Vienna Business School Vienna Business School is a private educational institution in Austria with a focus on business and economics, operated in Vienna and Mödling by the Fonds der Wiener Kaufmannschaft (Viennese Merchants Guild). Overview The Fonds der Wiener K ...

. In October 1867, Luger volunteered for military service as a Reserve Officer Cadet with the . He was promoted to ''Cadett-Corporal'' (Officer Cadet Corporal) on June 1, 1868, and to ''Faehnrich'' (Ensign) on October 1. Luger's good

marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...

ship brought him to the attention of his superiors; he was sent to the Austro-Hungarian Military Firearms School at Camp Bruckneudorf, where he soon became an instructor. There, his interest in automatic loading systems began. In 1871, Luger was promoted to ''Leutnant der Reserve'' (

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

) and moved to the military reserve.

Family

Luger married Elisabeth Josefa Dufek in 1873. He moved to Vienna with her and they had three children (in order): *''Georg Franz Luger'' *''Julius Wilhelm Bartholomaeus Luger'' (born March 16, 1880) *''Friedrich Alexander Georg Luger'' (born April 26, 1884) Luger's first son, Georg Franz, became a civil engineer and joined his father in military weapons development. His second son fell as a Hauptmann d.R. (Reservist Captain) in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on the Galician front in 1915.

After the military

After leaving the military, Luger worked as an accountant and later in the management of the Jockey Club, one of the top social meeting points in Vienna. He met Ferdinand von Mannlicher in about 1875 and the two collaborated on rifle magazine designs, which seemed to awaken a latent talent for design within Luger. In 1891, Luger was employed by

Ludwig Loewe & Company ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when ''Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and amm ...

(of

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) and gradually became a consultant designer. In 1894, he was sent to demonstrate a

Hugo Borchardt Hugo Borchardt (June 6, 1844 – May 8, 1924) was a firearms inventor and engineer, born in Magdeburg, Germany. He is known for his inventions of the Borchardt C-93 pistol and the Sharps-Borchardt Model 1878 rifle. In 1860 he emigrated to the Unit ...

-designed weapon, manufactured by

Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when ''Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and amm ...

(DWM) (which had evolved from Loewe after its founder's death), to the

US 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, cla ...

. The Army rejected the pistol, but from criticism he received, Luger improved it, creating the Parabellum pistol (commonly called a Luger), and patenting it in 1898. This pistol was a success for both Luger and DWM. Luger's contract with DWM was cancelled in 1919 and he successfully sued them over

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. However, Luger had lost all his savings by this time. He was decorated

Order of Prince Danilo I The Order of Prince Danilo I ( cnr, Орден Књаза Данила I, translit=Orden Knjaza Danila I) was an order of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro. It is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of P ...

Bibliography

* ''Imperial Lugers'' by Jan C. Still (Still's Books, 1994) * ''Third Reich Lugers'' by Jan C. Still (Still's Books, 1988) * ''Weimar Lugers'' by Jan C. Still (Still's Books, 1993) * ''Lugers at Random'' by Charles Kenyon (Hand Gun Press, 1990) * ''La Luger Artiglieria'' by Mauro Baudino (Editoriale Olimpia, 2004) * ''The Complete Handgun'' by Ian V Hogg (Peerage Books, 1984) * ''The Parabellum is Back! 1945 - 2000'' by Mauro Baudino & Gerben van Vlimmeren (Simpson Ltd., 2010)

References

Sources

Luger Artillery and Mauser Parabellum - Original Luger handwritten letter to Paul Mauser"NEW DATA ABOUT GEORG LUGER CONCERNING MAXIM MACHINE GUNS AND HIS PISTOL"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luger, Georg Johann 1849 births 1923 deaths People from Innsbruck-Land District Weapon designers Firearm designers Austro-Hungarian Army officers