FN’s Millionth Pistol: Presented to John Browning; Saved by a Belgian Cop

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! Fabrique Nationale was formed as a consortium of small gunmakers to produce Mauser rifles for the Belgian Army, and when that work was complete the company basically had nothing else to they met John Browning. Browning had a new pistols design and needed a manufacturer - and FN happened to be a manufacturer in need of a new design. The resulting partnership would last until Browning’s death decades later, and essentially created the modern FN that we know today. FN produced its one millionth Browning pistol on July 15th, 1912 and decided to throw a huge party in recognition the achievement. It would take 18 months to get everything arranged, and the gala was held on January 31st, 1914. John Browning attended, along with his sone Val, several Belgian government ministers, and