Maxwell Evans Rich (August 13, 1913 – July 29, 1979) was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 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 ...

. He also served as an

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the Utah

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

. He was an Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Background

As Executive Vice President of the NRA from 1970 to 1977, succeeding General

Franklin Orth Franklin Lewis Orth (May 11, 1907 – January 4, 1970) was Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association (NRA) from 1959 until his death. In the 1960s, Orth was influential during debates on gun control in the United States. Orth a ...

and followed by Harlon Carter, he was part of the "Old Guard". He planned to sell the NRA HQ in Washington, DC, and move it to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and to reduce the organization's political involvement. He sought to return the NRA to what he saw as its heritage of shooting sports and marksmanship. However members of his own staff disagreed. A grassroots movement led by

Neal Knox Clifford Neal Knox (June 20, 1935 – January 17, 2005) was a board member and officer of the National Rifle Association, gun magazine writer and editor, gun rights activist, and prolific author of technical firearms articles and articles rel ...

and Harlan Carter ousted Rich and the "old guard" as a result of the so-called " Cincinnati Revolt" or "Cincinnati Coup", which occurred at an annual meeting in 1977.

References

1913 births 1979 deaths United States Army generals Adjutants general of the National Guard of the United States People from Utah National Guard (United States) generals {{US-army-bio-stub