About Gaston Glock
Gaston Glock (German: [ˈɡastɔn ˈɡlɔk]; 19 July 1929 – 27 December 2023) was an Austrian engineer and businessman. He founded the company Glock in 1963. When he entered the 1980 competition for a new Austrian service pistol, he hired two engineers who had worked on the development of HK's first two polymer-frame pistols, the VP70 and P9 models. The first Glock pistol, chambered in 9x19mm and named the Glock 17 because of it being Gaston Glock's 17th patent, and not because it holds 17 rounds, entered Austrian military and police service in 1982. It became one of the most influential and popular handguns of the 20th century, leading to a succession of other models in a variety of sizes and chamberings as well as an industry-wide trend toward polymer-frame, striker-fired pistols. == Early life == Glock was born in Vienna on 19 July 1929. He had not handled a gun since he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht as a teenager near the end of World War II, after which he graduated from school as an engineer and joined a hand drill company. == Manufacturing == Glock began as a manufacturer of curtain rods in the 1960s, and knives for the Austrian military using a Soviet-era metal press in the 1970s, and did not design or manufacture a firearm until he was 52 years old. He already had experience with polymers from his previous business ventures. In 1980, he bought an injection-moulding machine to manufacture handles and sheaths for the field knives he was making for the Austrian army in his garage workshop.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.