Gaston Glock, the handgun designer who changed the world, died on Wednesday at 94 years of age.
The New York Times noted that Glock, born in 1929, “managed a car-radiator factory near Vienna” when he answered the call for a new handgun in the 1980s.
He heard the Austrian Army was seeking a handgun and he designed a 9mm semiautomatic that changed the course of the firearm world. It all started with the Glock Model 17, and the Austrian Army ordering 20,000 units. It was eventually adopted by “two-thirds of America’s police forces.”
The Glock also became a staple among federal agencies.
The Glock handgun relied on polymer in areas which bore no stress, allowing large portions of the gun to appear plastic to the naked eye.
Glock went to public school as a child and was trained in engineering. The Daily Mail reported that he got a divorce from his first wife, Hilga, in 2011, and in the same year married Katherine Tschikof.
Katherine was 51 years younger than Glock.
The Glock company website says, “Make it Simple, Make it Perfect,” in addressing Mr. Glock’s contribution to the handgun world: “Gaston 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.”
It continues, “His internationally renowned GLOCK Perfection stands for uncompromising quality and maximum customer satisfaction.”
