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Jean Cantius Garand ( , ; January 1, 1888 – February 16, 1974), also known as John C. Garand, was a Canadian-American designer of firearms who created the M1 Garand, a semi-automatic rifle that was widely used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps during both World War II and the Korean War.
Pronunciation of the name "Garand" has differed, pronounced as or . Descendants of John Garand and his close friend General Julian Hatcher generally agree with the latter, rhyming approximately with 'errand'.Keefe, Mark A., IV "Garand Pronunciation", American Rifleman, July 2012, page 36
In Springfield, Massachusetts, Garand was tasked with designing a basic gas-actuated self-loading infantry rifle and carbine that would eject the spent cartridge and reload a new round using a gas-operated system. Designing a rifle that was practical in terms of effectiveness, reliability, and production, stretched over time; it took fifteen years to perfect the M1 prototype model to meet all the U.S. Army specifications.Bruce N. Canfield. The Unknown M1 Garand, American Rifleman, 142 (January 1994): 46–49. Hindsight: A Critique Of The M1 Garand, December 14, 2014. The resulting Semiautomatic, Caliber .30, M1 Rifle was patented by Garand in 1932, approved by the U.S. Army on January 9, 1936, and went into mass production in 1940. It replaced the bolt-action M1903 Springfield and became the standard infantry rifle known as the Garand Rifle. He Invented the World's Deadliest Rifle, Popular Science, December 1940, page 68. During World War II, over four million M1 rifles were manufactured.Bruce N. Canfield. The Winchester Garand, American Rifleman, Volume 153 (April 2005), pages 46–49. The Garand Rifle proved to be an effective and reliable weapon and was praised by General MacArthur. The Garand Rifle , Chicago Tribune, February 26, 1942. General Patton wrote, "In my opinion, the M1 rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised."Rose, Alexander. American Rifle: A Biography. New York: Bantam Dell, 2008, page 319.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Garand designed and built a prototype bullpup rifle. It fired the same cartridge as the M1, but the magazine, action and shape were completely different. Garand T31 aka Bullpup .30 It was a select-fire design, and had a firing rate of about 600rpm. Springfield Armory Museum: U.S. RIFLE GARAND T31 "BULLPUP" .30 (T65E1) SN# 1 When Garand retired in 1953, the second version of the T31 was incomplete. The project was scrapped, and the prototype was retired to the Springfield Armory museum in 1961.
Garand never received any royalties from his M1 rifle design despite over six and a half million M1 rifles being manufactured as he transferred all rights regarding his inventions to the U.S. on January 20, 1936. Genius of Springfield, Springfield Armory National Historic Site, NPSGarand Gave Rifle to U.S., The New York Times, March 4, 1942.See court case about Garand's M1 rights assignment to U.S.: Burke v. United States, Court of Claims, 827 F.Supp 827, October 7, 1946. A bill was introduced in Congress to award him $100,000 in appreciation, but it did not pass. Garand remained in his consulting position with the Springfield Armory until his retirement in 1953.
Garand died in Springfield, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1974, and was buried at Hillcrest Park Cemetery there.
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