‘Gun master’ Gaston Glock dies at 94; All you need to know about him

Gaston Glock developed a semi-automatic service pistol for the Austrian military in the 80s, in his garage where he used to manufacture curtain roads and knives.

Engineer Gaston Glock, the inventor of one of the best-selling handguns of the world – Glock Handguns – died at the age of 94 in Austria, on Wednesday.

Announcing the news on its official website without revealing any details on the cause of his death, the Glock company said that its founder’s life’s work would continue in his spirit.

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The Austrian won a loyal following among police forces, militaries and security forces across the world with the weapons which bore his own name. He rose to fame in the 1980s, when the Austrian military was looking for an “innovative weapon”.

Born in 1929, Glock developed a semi-automatic service pistol for the Austrian military in the 80s, in his garage where he used to manufacture curtain roads and knives. Despite having limited experience in making guns, he invented a lightweight pistol  called “Glock” from a nylon-based polymer frame instead of traditional steel. The weapon then became an instant hit among the Austrian military forces.

The easily assembled weapon soon went on to become a global hit, even as its references were widely used in Hollywood movies of that time. In a popular dialogue from the 1998 movie “U.S. Marshals”, Tommy Lee Jones says “Get yourself a Glock and lose that nickel-plated sissy pistol.”

Its fame rose by the day as it made more and more appearances in Hollywood blockbusters, cementing itself in the American pop culture.

Gaston Glock, despite the popularity attained by his invention, was always described as a reclusive billionaire who spent most of his time away from limelight at a lakefront estate in his home country Austria.

The engineer, who founded one of the most prominent gun brands in the world was rarely in news as he seldom responded to criticism from gun control activists.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.