Paul Mauser

Peter Paul von Mauser, born Peter Paul Mauser in Oberndorf am Neckar in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg on 27 June 1838, was a German weapon designer, manufacturer, industrialist and politician who died on 29 May 1914. His father worked first as a shoemaker and then made leather scabbards for the Royal Rifle Factory in Oberndorf. Paul and his brother Wilhelm became gunsmiths and later founded the company Gebr Mauser, which took over the royal manufacture. Wilhelm handled the business side of the factory while Paul proved the more technically capable engineer. Together they designed the Mauser Model 1871 rifle, the first metal cartridge weapon of the German Empire, and Paul went on to improve bolt action design through the Gewehr 98 and Karabiner 98k lines. He also developed handguns, including the C96 pistol of 1896, one of the first semi-automatic pistols. Mauser rifles were adopted by Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Argentina, Turkey and many other states, which made the Mauser name known worldwide. He sat in the German Reichstag for the National Liberal Party from 1898 to 1903.