Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Model 1910: The Gun that Shook the World

 When I was researching for a paper, I chanced upon this article from Wikipedia... (So what's wrong with Wikipedia?!! ...as if you haven't used it as a resource for your term paper before... geeeez!)

"Perhaps the most infamous singular Browning-designed firearm was a FN Model 1910 handgun, serial number 19074. In 1914, Gavrilo Princip used the .380 ACP pistol to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie. This event arguably sparked World War I. The pistol was rediscovered in 2004."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning

Everybody knows that World War I was started by the assassination of the Archduke of Austria. Heck, I even know a guy who can identify the assassin... but I didn't know that the Browning-designed FN Model 1910 was used for the deed! The article continues to describe the Great War's effect on the world...

"By the war's end in 1918, four major imperial powers—the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires—had been militarily and politically defeated, with the last two ceasing to exist as autonomous entities. The revolutionized Soviet Union emerged from the Russian Empire, while the map of central Europe was completely redrawn into numerous smaller states. The League of Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war, the repercussions of Germany's defeat, and the Treaty of Versailles would eventually lead to the beginning of World War II in 1939."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I

This proves that under proper conditions, one gun (or gunman) can definitely change the world! Now, where can I buy an old Model 1910 for my collection?

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