John Garand was born on January 1st, 1888 in Quebec, Canada. He came to The U.S with his father at the age of 1 when his mother passed away. As time went on Mr. Garand dropped out of school to work at a textile mill to help support and feed his family. Then, later on, became an engineer and in 1917, designed his very first rifle. He sent the design down to the U.S military. Not only was it manufactured, but it he was also hired by the "NIST" to refine the design. Two years later it was transferred to an army arsenal in Springfield Massachusetts, where the Springfield rifle was made. While he was there, he spent the next 17 years trying to build a weapon that could be more efficient than the Springfield and also easier to use. So he built a 30 caliber, 8 shot, slip-loading rifle that fired 4 times faster than the Springfield rifle. This Rifle was known as the M1 Garand. This rifle was made specifically for the battlefield. From there on out all the way until 1957 the rifles were produced and used in wars such as World War II. In 1953 Garand was presented with the 1 millionth M1 rifle as a retirement gift. Decades later, John passed away on February 16, 1974 Springfield Massachusetts, where his first rifle was manufactured.