Theodor Bergmann, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetTheodor Bergmann
German businessman
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Sailauf, Bavaria, Germany
About Theodor Bergmann
- Theodor Bergmann (May 21, 1850 in Sailauf – March 23, 1931 in Gaggenau) was a German businessman and industrialist best remembered for the various revolutionary firearms his companies released.
- Like many entrepreneurs of the era, his activities centered on bicycles, and the nascent automobile.
- Armament was not Bergmann's primary focus, but the one he was most attracted to, which was the reason most of his pistols were manufactured under license once they were created.
- He is famous for creating automatic pistols, and their ammunition. Theodor Bergmann sold his automobile activity to Carl Benz in 1910. A new Bergmann model pistol was patented every year: Bergmann 1893 Bergmann 1894 Bergmann 1895 Bergmann 1896 Bergmann 1897 a.k.a.
- Bergmann Pieper Bergmann 1898 Bergmann 1899 Bergmann 1901 a.k.a.
- Bergmann Simplex Bergmann Mars Bergmann 1905 Bergmann 1908 a.k.a.
- Bergmann–Bayard 1908 Bergmann 1910 a.k.a.
- Bergmann–Bayard 1910 Bergmann 1910/21 a.k.a.
- Bergmann–Bayard 1910/21Bergmann designed the Bergmann MG15 nA Gun a LMG using a locking system he patented in 1901.
- It was used until World War II as the MG 15 machine gun In 1915, the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench warfare.
- The original intention had been to modify existing semi-automatic pistols, specifically the Luger and C96 Mauser.
- However, the mechanisms of these pistols were not suited to the stresses of full automatic fire, let alone the dirt and debris of the typical battlefield.
- In addition these light weight weapons were difficult to control in full automatic fire.
- Based upon this, the Commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser, working for the Bergmann Waffenfabrik, was part of a team that designed a new type of weapon to fulfill the requirements, which was designated the MP18 or Maschinenpistole 18/I. Theodor Bergmann's company still exists today as a plastics manufacturer.
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