Browning, John Moses (1855-1926), invented and designed more successful firearms than any other American. He became internationally famous for designing and inventing automatic arms, including the Browning automatic rifle, also called BAR. He made his first gun from scrap metal at the age of 13. In 1879, he received his first patent–for a single-shot rifle. From then on, he designed a series of pistols, rifles, and shotguns. The U.S. Army adopted his machine gun in 1895. Several European countries also used his firearms. Browning was born in Ogden, Utah.