Louis Schmeisser (5 February 1848, Zöllnitz – 23 March 1917) was one of the best-known weapon technical designers of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. He is associated with the development and production of the Bergmann machine guns used during the

First World War 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 ...

. He designed the Dreyse 1907 Pistol which was used in both World Wars. Schmeisser was born in Zöllnitz,

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometer ...

. He was the father of

Hugo Schmeisser Hugo Schmeisser (24 September 1884 – 12 September 1953) was a German developer of 20th century infantry weapons. Schmeisser was born in Jena, Thuringia. His father, Louis Schmeisser (1848–1917), was one of the best-known weapons designers i ...

(1884–1953), who was also a famous designer of infantry weapons, including the

StG 44 The StG 44 (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 44, "assault rifle 44") is a German assault rifle developed during World War II by Hugo Schmeisser. It is also known by its early designations as the MP 43 and MP 44 (''Maschinenpistole 43'' and ''44''). ...

. His other son, Hans Schmeisser, was also a well-known weaponry designer.

References

* Norbert Moczarski, Zwischen Jena, Gaggenau, Suhl und Sömmerda - Leben und Wirken des Waffenkonstrukteurs Louis Schmeisser (1848–1917) In: Sömmerdaer Heimatheft. Beiträge zur Heimatkunde des Landkreises Sömmerda und der Unstrut-Finne-Region, Sömmerda 2000, pp. 82–93. * http://www.kalashnikov.ru/upload/medialibrary/954/10_18.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmeisser, Louis 1848 births 1917 deaths People from Saale-Holzland-Kreis People from Saxe-Altenburg Firearm designers 19th-century German inventors