KEY POINTS
- Gaston Glock made the world-famous Glock handgun out of black plastic
- About two thirds of the U.S. police department used Glock Inc. products in 2017
- The Glock’s popularity soared after its appearance in the 1990 Hollywood blockbuster, “Die Hard 2”
Gaston Glock, the inventor of the Glock handgun, died Wednesday at the age of 94.
Glock’s demise was announced by his firearms company, Glock Inc. However, the cause of death was not mentioned.
Hailing from Austria, Glock, invented the world-famous handgun with black plastic, and made it available to the gun-toting public in the middle of the 1980s, following which it caught the fancy of U.S. security agencies and individual gun owners.
Glock’s invention was initially aimed at military personnel and law enforcement sleuths in Austria. The European country made it the army’s service pistol to exploit its plastic build and cheap construction costs.
Glock, who spotted the Austrian army’s need for a hand gun, never owned pistols, but brought together experts to create what he termed “the pistol of future.”
This novel approach spurred the invention of the Glock 17, a semiautomatic gun manufactured from industrial plastic.
During the development process of the gun, Glock fired the prototypes not with his natural right hand, but with his left. The premise was that, in case of any accident, he could continue the design work with his other hand, according to Paul Barrot, who wrote his 2012 book “Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun.”
After the Austrian army adopted it, Norway also followed suit.
Though considered cheap, the Glock gun’s users were praised by its safety features as it made waves in the U.S. arms market in 1985. Glock’s pistol’s popularity also soared after its appearance in the 1990 Hollywood blockbuster “Die Hard 2.”
Coinciding with its U.S. foray, Glock Inc. also set up its headquarters in Smyrna, Georgia, in 1985. This paved the way for revolutionizing the small arms industry as well as boosting the Glock brand.
As per an estimate by Forbes, about two-thirds of the U.S. police department used Glock Inc. products. In addition, 65% of all guns sold in the country were Glock products, as per a Forbes estimate in 2017. According to the same report, Glocks guns clocked $500 million in sales.
The police department found Glock’s hand pistol easy to learn and use. However, Glock pistols had their fair share of critics as it was used in several mass shootings, prompting advocates of gun control to accuse Glock and his company of promoting and popularizing weapons that were easy to hide.
Toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had a Glock with him when he was found by the U.S. forces in a hole in 2023. The New York Times later reported that the gun, a prized possession, was gifted to U.S. President George W. Bush.
The inventor of the hugely popular Glock handguns was a person who kept a low profile. Except in 1996, when he survived a bid on his life, and in 2010, during the course of a protracted divorce battle with his wife, Helga, Glock rarely made headlines. Helga held 1% in Glock Inc.– estimated to be worth $1.5 billion by Forbes in 2017 — with the rest 99% owned by Gaston.
As per Forbes, Glock, born on July 19, 1929, and his family’s worth was $1.1 billion in 2021, though his counsel disputed this.
In 2011, Glock got married to Kathrin, who was fifty years younger than him. He has a daughter and two sons, Reuters reported.
