Val A. Browning - Wikipedia

Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that August 20 is the anniversary of the birth of WWI U.S. Army veteran, American industrialist, philanthropist and third-generation gunmaker Val Allen Browning.
Rest in peace Val Allen Browning.

The History of the Val. A Browning Center at Weber State University
"The film shares memorable stories and events of the Val A. Browning Center, Weber State University's performance hall, for over 50 years."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQsNXLl-bmE

Images
1. Second Lieutenant Val Browning firing a 1917 Browning machine gun.
2. Lt. Val Browning (left), son of firearm inventor John Moses Browning, instructing US soldiers on how to use the M1917 machine gun his father invented. (France, 1918).
3. The Browning Lineage
4. Val A Browning painting.jpg


1. Background from mormonwiki.com/Val_Browning
"Val A. Browning was an inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist.
He was born on August 20, 1895, the only child born to John M. Browning, the inventor of dozens of weapons including the Browning Automatic Rifle. His father was founder of the Browning Arms Company. At one time, the Utah company was the world’s largest manufacture of small arms.
Browning graduated from Ogden High School in 1912 and studied mechanical engineering and law at Cornell University. He served during World War I (with the rank of first Lieutenant) and taught instructors at the US Army’s machine gun school in France, using guns that the Brownings had invented and manufactured. He was named manager of the Browning Arms factory in Liege, Belgium, in 1920.
He lived in Europe with his wife Ann Chaffin until 1935 when they returned to Utah and he served as president of the Browning Arms Company. He continued to improve guns and held many patents, which included improvements to his father’s designs.
He was decorated by King Baudouin of Belgium with the Cross of Chevalier de l'Order de Leopold in 1955, the same honor his father received from King Albert in 1914 “for "eminent services rendered to gun making.”
He used his wealth to build fine arts, education, and healthcare, including endowments for the Val A. Browning Administration Building at UVU in Orem, Utah; the Val A. Browning Fine Arts Center at Weber State University; the Val A. Browning Library at Dixie College in St. George, Utah; a cancer treatment center at St. Benedict’s Hospital in Ogden; and the St. Joseph High School Library in Ogden, to name a few. He donated a European masterwork collection to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. He was a benefactor to Weber State University and Dixie State University.
Browning passed away on May 16, 1994. He and his wife were the parents of four children. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

2. Obituary background deseret.com/1994/5/18/19109514/val-a-browning-industrialist-and-philanthropist-dies-at-98
VAL A. BROWNING, INDUSTRIALIST AND PHILANTHROPIST, DIES AT 98
By Deseret News May 18, 1994, 12:00am MDT
Douglas D. Palmer, Staff Writer
Val A. Browning, 98, inventor, world-renowned industrialist and former chairman of the board of Browning Arms Co., died Monday evening [May 16, 1994] of cancer at his Ogden home.
He also was well-known for his philanthropic efforts in behalf of educational and health-care institutions in the Ogden area and was a major contributor to the arts.The Brownings now have no official affiliation with Browning Arms, but Mr. Browning became honorary chairman in the mid-1970s when the Browning family sold stock in the firm.
Mr. Browning was born Aug. 20, 1895, in Ogden, the third generation of gun inventors whose name became synonymous with guns. His grandfather, Jonathan Browning, came to Utah in 1851 and opened a gun shop in Ogden. His father, John Moses Browning, was the inventor of dozens of weapons, including an automatic shotgun, .45-caliber pistol and the Browning Automatic Rifle (known as the BAR), and was founder in 1898 of Browning Arms Co.
The northern Utah company was once the world's largest manufacturer of small arms. The firm is now simply known as Browning and has headquarters in Mountain Green, Morgan County.
After graduating from Ogden High School in 1912, Mr. Browning studied mechanical engineering and law at Cornell University. During World War I he taught instructors at the Army's machine gun school in France the use of guns that the Brownings had invented and manufactured. Following his military tour, Mr. Browning began work for his father and in 1920 was named manager of the Browning Arms factory in Liege, Belgium.
In 1924 he married Ann Chaffin. They lived in Europe until 1935, when he returned to Utah as president of Browning Arms. Like his father, Mr. Browning was always working to improve guns. He holds many patents in his own name.
In a 1988 Associated Press interview, Mr. Browning said his two most satisfying inventions were improvements to his father's designs- a quick-loading feature for the automatic shotgun and a single-trigger mechanism for the over-under double-barrel shotgun.
He was decorated by King Baudouin of Belgium with the Cross of Chevalier de l'Order de Leopold in 1955, the same honor his father received from King Albert in 1914 - for "eminent services rendered to gun making."
Mr. Browning's philanthropic contributions include endowments for the Val A. Browning Fine Arts Center at Weber State University; St. Joseph High School Library, Ogden; the Browning Arms Gun Museum at Ogden's Union Station; a cancer-treatment center at St. Benedict's Hospital, Ogden; a new building at Your Community Connection, also Ogden; the Val A. Browning Administration Building at the Orem campus of Utah Valley State College; and the Val A. Browning Learning Resource Center and the Val A. Browning Library at Dixie College, St. George.
Two years ago Mr. Browning donated a European masterwork collection to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. One painting, by Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Younger, is insured for $1 million.
Weber State University President Paul H. Thompson said Mr. Brown-ing's passing is a "major loss for Utah and the nation. I only knew him for four years, but he was an outstanding leader in our community and had such great insight on the needs of the community. He wanted to provide people with cultural events at a reasonable price. His funds helped us bring such acts as the Bolshoi Ballet from Moscow, the New York Ballet and symphonies from around the world."
Saying he had known the industrialist and philanthropist and his family for many years, Ogden Mayor Glenn J. Mecham said, "Mr. Browning represents the highest standard of personal values and caring for society. His generosity is legendary. However, his genuine personal traits for caring for every individual are not as well known. To know Val Browning is to know how much he really cared about the welfare of humanity."

Mr. Browning's wife died in 1975. Survivors include two sons and two daughters: John Val Browning, Ogden; Bruce W. Browning, Seattle; Carol Dean Dumke, Las Vegas; Judy Jones, Pleasant View, Weber County; a sister, Elizabeth McLeod, Escondido, Calif.; 12 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren."

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Thanks for sharing.

Excellent history share sir.