Gaston Glock, Austrian founder of the popular handgun, dies at age 94
Gaston Glock, the Austrian engineer who went from making curtain rods to manufacturing some of the world's most popular handguns, died Wednesday at the age of 94.
Glock Inc., announced the death of the company's founder on its website. No cause of death was given. Glock "not only revolutionized the world of small arms in the 1980s, but also succeeded in establishing the Glock brand as the global leader in the handgun industry,” the company said.
The Glock pistol became not only a favorite of law enforcement, but has appeared in blockbuster movies such as "Die Hard 2" and U.S. Marshals," and is referenced in many rap songs including Wu Tang Clan's "Da Glock."
Born in Vienna, Austria in 1929, Glock's company expanded to providing knives and bayonets to the Austrian Army in the 1970s. Then, he learned of the army's need of a new handgun in 1980, wrote Paul Barrett in the book "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun," published in 2012.
Despite not even owning a handgun himself, Glock convened experts to help him create the "pistol of the future." During the project, Glock trained on handguns and fired the prototypes with his left hand in case there was an accident, so he could continue his design work with his right hand, Barrett wrote.
The result was the Glock 17, a lightweight semi-automatic handgun made of industrial plastic, or polymer, that held 17 rounds in its magazine and another in its chamber.
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The Austrian Army chose the Glock as its new service pistol in 1983 and the next year it was chosen by the Norwegian Army as their standard sidearm, the company says. Glock, which opened its U.S. headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia in 1985, says more than 65% of U.S. federal, state and local agencies have been issued Glock pistols.
Gun-making founder of Glock: "A reclusive billionaire"
As Glock's success grew, Gaston Glock became "a reclusive billionaire who owned his company and lived on a lakefront estate in Austria shielded by guards, lawyers, financiers and servants," The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Glock did make the news in 1999 when, at the age of 70, he survived an attempt on his life: his investment broker hired a former wrestler to attack him with a rubber hammer, Reuters reported. Glock took blows to the head but fended off the attack; the broker and attacker were found guilty of attempted murder.
His 2011 divorce from Helga Glock, his wife of 49 years, also attracted publicity and resulted in a lengthy alimony battle, Reuters reported. Glock is survived by his second wife, Kathrin, who he married soon after the divorce, a daughter and two sons, according to Reuters.
Forbes listed Gaston Glock and his family's worth as $1.1 billion in 2021, however, counsel for Glock strongly objected to his inclusion in the list and disputed the valuation, according to Forbes. Glock dropped off the list in 2022.
How did the Glock become popular with police?
When Glock began courting U.S. law enforcement, officers were finding themselves outgunned by criminals, Barrett wrote in the book. The handgun was more reliable and cheaper than the competition. Still, Glock also offered discounts to police departments, Barrett told NPR during a 2012 interview.
"Police departments were amazed when they took their officers out to the range and found out not only could they learn to use the Glock pretty quickly, but the Glock also made them more accurate as marksmen," Barrett told NPR. "And that's in part because it has a very light, very steady trigger pull. ... Critics of the guns say the trigger pull is so light that it makes accidental discharges so likely. But the Glock always has had that dual nature to it – the advantages can be reframed as disadvantages."
Glocks used in many shootings across the US
Glock handguns became popular purchases for consumers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to an increase in gun sales.
Several high-profile and mass-casualty shootings have been committed with Glock pistols including the December 2020 Rockford, Illinois shooting at the Don Carter Lanes complex, which left three dead and three wounded; the November 2018 Thousand Oaks shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, which left 13 people dead, including the gunman, and the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, which resulted in 33 deaths (the shooter included), according to the Violence Policy Center.
The name "Glock" has also been in the news because of the prevalence of "Glock switches," when can be attached to a handgun to make it fire more rounds faster. Glock does not make these devices, which are often 3D printed. The conversion devices have become more common, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms saying there was more than 5,000 recovered from 2017 to 2021, up 570% from the amount recovered 2012 to 2016.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gaston Glock, who developed the Glock pistol, dies at age 94
