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 War ...

, 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- ...

that was widely used by the U.S. Army 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 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

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 Jewett City is a borough in New London County, Connecticut, in the town of Griswold. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census. The borough was named for Eliezer Jewett, who founded a settlement there in 1771. Geography According to the Un ...

, 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 where Jean learned to speak English while sweeping floors. Jean became interested in guns and learned to shoot after working at a shooting gallery. 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 Bay ...

, 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 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 ...

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 warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

took bids on designs for a light machine gun, 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 The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British ...

. Garand was appointed to a position with the United States Bureau of Standards in

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with the task of perfecting the weapon. The first model was not built until 1919, too late for use in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, 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. En-JohnGarandLarge

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 e ...

, 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 on January 9, 1936, and went into mass production in 1940. It replaced the 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 ...

and became the standard infantry rifle known as the ''Garand Rifle''. During

, over four million M1 rifles were manufactured. The Garand Rifle proved to be an effective and reliable weapon and was praised by General MacArthur. General Patton 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 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 a ...

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

, 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 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 " continuing ...

, and the first Medal for Merit (together with Albert Hoyt Taylor) 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 Wa ...

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

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